SYNOPSICS
The Capture (1950) is a English movie. John Sturges has directed this movie. Lew Ayres,Teresa Wright,Victor Jory,Jacqueline White are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1950. The Capture (1950) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Western movie in India and around the world.
Badly injured and hunted by the police, Lin Vanner takes refuge in a priest's home, and tells him what has happened. When Vanner was working in a Mexican oil field, he captured a man who was suspected of a payroll robbery, but then felt responsible when the man died in police custody. As a result of the incident, Vanner's fiancée broke off their engagement, and he resigned from his job. He later felt compelled to visit the dead man's widow, and ended up working on her ranch. But, as he now explains to the priest, the past has quickly caught up with him.
Same Actors
The Capture (1950) Reviews
The Capture a psychological melodrama set among the Mexican badlands
The director, John Sturges, is remembered for westerns Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Magnificent Seven, Last Train from Gun Hill etc and The Capture has a touch of that genre as the movie opens with Lew Ayres on the run from the Mexican Federales somewhere in those dark Mexican hills. The story is interesting on three levels: first, it has a Freudian element with Lew Ayres (playing an ex-oilman, Lin Vanner) suffering from a guilt complex, one that he acquired after killing, in haste, a man he thought was responsible for a payroll robbery; second, it's also a "whodunit" as Lin eventually tries to find out who really did steal the payroll; and third, the story is written by Niven Busch who also wrote the screenplay for Pursued, another psychological western which also starred Teresa Wright (and Robert Mitchum) in 1947. If you've seen Pursued, then you'll know that movie was photographed in very stark black and white and a lot of it at night. This film follows that same format but, in my opinion, it was not done as well as the former movie. However, it's still good to look at. Lin Vanner tells the story mostly in flashback, while he rests at the house of a priest and as he waits for the police to catch up with him. As stories go, it's somewhat pedestrian and predictable, but it does attempt to present for the viewer a very troubled man's need to resolve the doubts he has about personal motivation, integrity and courage. I'd seen Lew Ayres in other films, notably All Quiet on the Western Front, but I felt that other actors would have been better cast; somehow, his rendition of the character just didn't seem to be tough enough to carry on. Robert Mitchum would have been appropriate in the role, I think. Teresa Wright (as Ellen Tevlin), on the other hand, gave another competent performance as the embittered widow of the man, Sam Tevlin, whom Lin Vanner had killed. (Perhaps the studio thought it was too much to have Teresa Wright and Robert Mitchum in another psychological western so soon after Pursued?) It was great to see Duncan Renaldo (as Carlos) appear, however briefly; and, once again, Barry Kelley (as Earl Mahoney) turns up as one of the heavies that Lin Vanner must face in order to solve the puzzle and salve his conscience. And, in a surprise turnout, there's Victor Jory (one of Hollywood's long-time great character actors) as the sympathetic priest (Father Gomez) and sounding board for Lin Vanner's recounting of his miseries. I'd seen Victor Jory, in other movies, mostly as a bandit, an Indian, a hard-nosed Mexican cattleman, a cop and such like, so the role of priest was definitely different for him, but a role that he (under) played with consummate skill. For movie buffs and Sturges fans, I'd recommend this movie. If you're bored and you want to while away ninety minutes or so, you could do much worse.
Interesting Drama
This is an interesting drama that features a good leading performance by Lew Ayres and a story that combines action and a little psychology. The pace is uneven, particularly in the middle of the movie, and this keeps it from being better. But both the early sequences and the climactic chain of events work pretty well. Ayres plays a former oil man who once captured a suspected criminal, and then felt responsible when the man died in custody. He starts to get involved with the dead man's widow, even as he is haunted by uncertainty over whether he had done the right thing. It sets up a number of possibilities, and it is given an added air of fateful inevitability by the technique of having Ayres's character tell most of the story, in flashback style, to a priest. After a solid start, things bog down for a while in the middle, although Ayres and Teresa Wright do their best to keep it watchable. Eventually, though, it gets back on track, and the last few scenes tie things together and bring the story to a tense conclusion.
An example of thoughtful storytelling.
I purchased this as part of a 50 Movie pack of DVD's called Action Classics. While that is not the genre I'd call it, The Capture is well worth the time. The first part of the movie deals with a US oilfield worker in 1935 Mexico. He hunts down and kills a payroll robber. The film then settles into the main part of the story. It is an introspective, psychological analysis of the consequences for himself, and those who remember the dead man. Its all about a search for meaning and truth. The Capture left me with the feeling I used to get, watching the the short stories that were the staple of anthology drama series of the 1950's -- Twilight Zone, or Zane Grey Theatre -- but of course, this feature film has better production values than a TV series. I loved the innocent thoughtful stories that don't seem to be made any more, and The Capture is a fine example them.
Man captures someone who might be innocent
This film is a happy surprise, because so little was written about it that you tend to think it can´t be good. But it is a very good western, which takes place probably in the 1950´s in Mexico. Lew Ayres, driven by the ambition of his girlfriend, shoots a man who he thinks is culpable of a robbery.After he does it, he starts having second thoughts, if he did not shoot the wrong person,and leaves his job.He meets Theresa Wright and starts working for her. The story, written by Niven Busch is very well built, and at many times makes you think of "Pursued", also written by Busch, and starring Theresa Wright. Ayres, like Robert Mitchum in "Pursued" gets involved in tragic events and feels he cannot escape from his destiny.
The Capture (1950)
Disappointing western-tinged noir (or noir-tinged western) from John Sturges about a man driven by guilt over killing a robbery suspect. The movie plods and plods, especially during the tedious second act, and doesn't pick up until the end. I would say Lew Ayres that seems wrong for the role, but it's hard to pin down what the role is. Noir is often about making the wrong choices, but this guy just seems to make one bone-headed or misguided decision after another. Teresa Wright's character is equally puzzling. The whole thing just doesn't work. Some potentially interesting psychological angles arise, but they're handled poorly. The score is also a dud and the cinematography isn't that special either. A few good moments aside, nothing much to see here.