The Stalking Moon (1968)

An army scout (Gregory Peck) on his last patrol meets up with a white woman (Eva Marie Saint), who was captured and lived with the Apache for ten years, and her Indian son (Noland Clay). He agrees to help her back to civilization but what he doesn't know is that the boy's father is determined to get the boy back at any cost, even if it means slaughtering his way to him. Based on the novel by Theodore Olsen and directed by Robert Mulligan (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD). There have been charges of racism toward the film (the Indian killer is never seen in close up, he's a shadow figure) since its initial release but really, people are reading or projecting something into it that simply isn't there. It's not a social statement, it's the western as a thriller and tautly directed by Mulligan, who expertly keeps the tension quotient high. The dialogue is minimal and Peck and Saint give fine performances. Young Clay has no dialogue but he's very good in communicating his ambivalence and fear. The Nevada locations are breathtaking as shot by Charles Lang (BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE) in wide screen Panavision. Fred Karlin's muted score is very good except for one motif that he repeats to the point of annoyance. With Robert Forster, Frank Silvera and Lonny Chapman.