Robert Redford plays Bubba Reeves, an escaped convict who is returning to the small Texas town he calls home to visit his wife. Bubba's wife, the sheriff, and the rest of the town are none too pleased when they catch wind of Bubba's return. His wife is cheating on him with Roger, the son of the influential town oil mogul. The sheriff (Marlon Brando) might be in the oil mogul's pocket. Roger fears Bubba's wrath, as do the rest of the people in town, who all have there own reasons to fear the return of bad Bubba Reeves, ranging from the paranoid to the extremely justified. Whatever the reasons, everyone wants Bubba taken care of once and for all. The sheriff must apprehend Bubba and bring him in alive, all the time battling the will of the people who want Bubba Reeves dead.
Lillian Hellman adapted this melodrama about a sin-ridden Texas town from the novel and play by Horton Foote. The cast is full of top-notch actors, including Marlon Brando, E.G. Marshall, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Jane Fonda, and Robert Redford. The story concerns a small Texas town that is turned upside down by panic when word comes of escaped convict and all-around bad man Bubba Reeves's planned return. It seems nearly everyone in town has a reason to fear Bubba. As the evil Bubba Reeves approaches, tensions reach a breaking point among the supposedly decent, law-abiding citizens. His wife is cheating on him with the son of the local oil tycoon. The oil tycoon has the sheriff in his pocket. The corrupt banker wants revenge on his young, nymphomaniac wife. The sheriff must capture Bubba and deliver him to justice while keeping him from the hands of the powerful oil tycoon and the lynch rope of the town mob. A social critique of the late 1960s, THE CHASE offers a poignant look into the subjects of gun control, abuse of power, sexual promiscuity, jealousy, greed, justice, and mob mentality. THE CHASE is considered by many to be a landmark achievement in American filmmaking. Marlon Brando also delivers what is thought to be one of his last great performances.
The production was supposedly hampered by conflicts between Lillian Hellman and Arthur Penn over the script.
Lillian Hellman wanted to link the final scene to John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Jocelyn Brando, who plays Mrs. Briggs, is actor Marlon Brando's older sister.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Cinematographer
Joseph La Shelle:
Cinematographer
Robert Surtees: Director of Photography and father of Bruce Surtees
Production Designer
Richard Day:
Source Writer
Horton Foote: Texas Playwright/Screenwriter
Costume Designer
Donfeld: Costume Designer, PRIZZI'S HONOR, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Review 1:
"THE CHASE remains a fascinating, deliriously overwrought 1966 look at the dark underbelly of America on the brink."
Source: Film Comment
p.76 03/01/2004
Review 2:
"Brando deftly underplays his role as a sheriff presiding over a southern town..."
Source: Premiere
p.115 10/01/2004
Review 3:
"[This] super-heated 1966 movie belongs to Marlon Brando, coolly magnificent as the sheriff caught in the middle..."
Source: Uncut
p.166 01/01/2005
Review 4:
"[O]ne of the few need-to-see Brando movies between ONE-EYED JACK and THE GODFATHER."
Source: USA Today
p.9E 02/27/2004
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