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The Fugitive

Directed by John Ford.
With Henry Ford, Dolores Del Rio, Pedro Armendáriz.
US/Mexico, 1947, 35mm, black & white, 104 min.
Print source: Swank

Among John Ford’s least known yet deeply memorable major works is his beautifully stylized adaptation of Greene’s celebrated 1940 novel The Power and the Glory—a gripping allegory about religious faith and the State which follows the final desperate days of the last priest in an unnamed Latin American country where religion has been declared illegal. Shot entirely in Mexico by the preeminent Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, The Fugitive accents and adds nuance to its stark tale of guilt and difficult retribution through Expressionist light and shadows, as well as Henry Fonda’s remarkable performance. He brings an unusual pathos and humanity to his portrayal of the “whiskey priest,” struggling to understand the moral and spiritual turpitude of his country and his religion.

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