The Chase

Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda. A small Texas town and its competent sheriff are turned upside down when a young man escapes from the local prison. 1966/color/135 min/NR/widescreen.

An almost absurdly star-studded cast brings to life Horton Foote's story of prejudice, violence, and frustrated love in The Chase. When Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison, a drunken party in his hometown turns into a vigilante mob. The news disrupts the birthday celebration of a local oil tycoon (E.G. Marshall), whose son (James Fox) is having an affair with Reeves's wife Anna (Jane Fonda). Meanwhile, a bank vice-president (Robert Duvall) knows his wife (Janice Rule) is cheating on him but can't do anything about it except spread a little misery. The sheriff (Marlon Brando) struggles to hold things together until he can persuade Reeves to give himself up. The accents are thick and the emotions seem overwrought at first, but director Arthur Penn (Bonnie & Clyde, Little Big Man) weaves the multiple storylines together into an unsettling finale. Also featuring Angie Dickinson and Miriam Hopkins. --Bret Fetzer