Task: Sentiment Analysis
Input (English): Wellman Adaptation Lacks Suspense... . After watching the fabulous bonus features on this DVD (a biography of William 'Wild Bill' Wellman with observations by Robert Mitchum and Tab Hunter, another bio of "Track" author Walter Van Tilburg Clark, a look at actual mountain lions and their habitat, and more), I realized I held a 'minority opinion' of the film, itself, compared to many of the reviewers you'll read, here; I think it is stagy, lacks the sense of dread and palpable suspense of the novel, and doesn't 'hold up' as well as most of the director's work.    A tale of a dysfunctional family at it's boiling point, and the impact a nearly primordial panther has, in changing their lives, the characters, with the exception of always watchable Robert Mitchum, as the domineering middle son, are all either boring, frustratingly indecisive, or downright unlikable. Oldest son William Hopper, best-known as 'Paul Drake' in television's "Perry Mason", is the dreamer, who 'bonds' with the environment, but lacks the instinctive power to defeat the cat, and never comes across as more than wishy-washy; bitter spinster sister Teresa Wright offers a one-note portrayal that soon becomes grating; youngest son Tab Hunter is so wimpy that you quickly lose interest in him; Philip Tonge, the loquacious alcoholic father, whose drinking problem, in the novel, is tragic, here becomes a stereotyped comic drunk, with hidden bottles of liquor providing 'comic relief'; Diana Lynn, as Hunter's girl, tries hard, but never seems more than a minor character in the proceedings; even legendary Beulah Bondi, as the greedy, Bible-spouting, mean-spirited mother, seems to simply channel her 'bad mom' portrayal from the "What if?" sequence of "It's a Wonderful Life". Worst of all, ex-Little Rascal Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, encased in phony-looking 'old age' make-up to 'pass' as a 100-year-old ranch hand/medicine man, looks neither believable, or comfortable in the role.    With a farm set that looks patently artificial (and obviously on a sound stage), the outdoor scenes, shot at Mount Rainier, must take up the slack; sadly, despite the creativity in using high contrasts to make the colors achieve a 'black and white' look, the book's greatest asset, the constant, frightening 'unseen' presence of the malevolent cat was, to me, never achieved, despite a Mitchum monologue as he gradually succumbs to helpless fear; in fact, Hunter's final confrontation with the cat is handled so 'routinely' that you can't understand what all the fuss was about!    The film was a big letdown!
Output (English): NEG