THE STALKING MOON
US, 1968, 108 minutes, Colour.
Gregory Peck, Eva Marie Saint, Robert Forster.
Directed by Robert Mulligan.
The Stalking Moon is a good Western. Its story is not particularly new: veteran soldier protects woman and child against the Indians. But there are some complications as the woman has been prisoner of the Indians and her son has been fathered by the Indian who is now stalking them. Where the film succeeds is in its sense of humanity pervading the film. The plot is not sensationalised. We are interested by the people in the film and their problems and anxieties. There is tension in the final confrontation of soldier and Indian, but it is tense because we have got to know the people involved as well as sharing the dangers of the chase.
The success of the film would be due to Robert Mulligan's more sensitive direction. He has made a number of films with strong social interest, but he invests them with a certain warmth of feeling - To Kill a Mockingbird, Love With the Proper Stranger, Up the Down Staircase. A Western worth discussing and suitable for younger groups as well.
1. Was this just another Western, or was it a Weatern with a difference?
2. How strong was the sense of humanity running through the film - what examples would you give?
3. What did the film ahow of life on a frontier, the hazards, the fight for survival? How does a frontier affect people's attitudes and behaviour?
4. What does the film have to aay about the Indians, the white man's treatment of the Indians and their revenge? What did you think of the rounded-up Indians, walking in groupe with army guards? In contrast, how did Sarah's story affect you - the terrorism, massacre and rape?
5. How did the white men react to Sarah? What did this show of racist attitudes?
6. Whose responsibility were the early massacres - the boy’s, the Whites', the boy's father's? - note the language barriers for the boy, his affection for and obedience to his mother, trying to run to his father, his tears, flick's cards, seeing Sam shot?
7. Did Sarah do the right thing in staying with the Indians and staying alive? She said she couldn't die,
8. How was Sam's sense of responsibility aroused - a kind man of action and dreams? What affect did the scene of the two sitting at the station have on Sam? Why?
9. How did the director evoke sympathy for Sarah - note the concentration on Eva Marie Saint 'e face, her work, her speech, her love for her son.
10. Comment on the mountains, the dust, the cards, people's hands as symbolic of the story?
11. Was the culmination of the film effective? How did the director help the audience to identify with Sam, his fear and his sense of the stalking Indian?
12. The film, although it has a stark and tragic story, has a sense of optimism, goodness, men helping one another and resilient after they are put dawn. How true was this?
