MANHUNT
(20th Century-Fox) G Cert. HE dedicated man of peace-or the woman of peace-driven to the point where he seeks to defend the right with a gun has been an important character in several films in recent years. The Quaker wife in High Noon was one, the farmer with a pitchfork in Violent Saturday was another. Taken seriously, their presence argues that ultimately even the best men must rely on force-at which I protest a little, even though I think High Noon one of the best pieces of cinema I have seen. In Manhunt the theme is used again, but here the conflicting impulses are so balanced within the hero that looking back you'll find his internal battle as interesting as the one he fights for his life against armed pursuers. Don’t let me give you the impression, though, that Manhunt is not primarily good entertainment. One of the best Westerns I have seen for.a long time, it has all the required elements, with good pace and plenty of excitement, without being predictable in the detail of its action as the inferior Western sometimes is. Played by Don Murray with a fine feeling for the part, the man of peace is a young cowboy who has been blamed for killing the son of a wealthy rancher. From the ‘ranch a party sets out to seek revenge, Western style. "I don’t think I could kill a man even if I had to," the young cowboy tells a_ friendly rancher who helps him. Well I’m afraid that-something of a crack shot, inci-dentally-he turns and stands and has blood on his hands before the final fadeout; but his reverence for life is also strikingly demonstrated. Manhunt,~ which Henry Hathaway directed, is always easy to look at, and beside such dramatic highlights as a horse stampede, a running fight with Comanches and two gun battles, it has some well-played quieter scenes, with Diane Varsi in a leading part as The Girl. Of several good supporting players, I specially liked Jay C. Flippen as a wagon driver who speaks some agreeably dry lines while giving the hero a lift through Comanche country.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19580725.2.44.1.1
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 39, Issue 988, 25 July 1958, Page 26
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357MANHUNT New Zealand Listener, Volume 39, Issue 988, 25 July 1958, Page 26
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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