It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Blistering performances.

This may sound strange, but, in some ways , this reminds me of Gregory Peck's much earlier and better remembered role in "The Yearling". Again, Peck is living in a primitive region, with a largely silent wife or woman companion and her half grown son. Of course, there are major differences. Here, the son is not his, and they don't understand each other's language., and the boy has divided loyalties toward his runaway mother and his brutal Apache father. The challenges are also quite different. Here, it's primarily a sandstorm, then several encounters with the woman's murderous husband, come to reclaim his son and perhaps wife. But, in the end, the family emerges stronger in their commitments to each other, having survived these challenges together....To some extent, this screenplay also reminds me of "Will Penny", as some others have mentioned.Eva Marie Saint, as Sarah, plays a very atypical European captive of the AZ Apache. She was captured as a married woman, traveling with her husband and several small boys, apparently as a single wagon. The husband and boys were killed, while she was spared, perhaps because of her blond hair and fair complexion. However, evidently she has been treated harshly during the intervening 10 years, causing her to shrink into the background and be minimally conversant when offered a chance at repatriation by a cavalry group, who discover her situation. Historically, she is very unusual, in that usually mature captured European women, especially with children, were raped and killed or occasionally kept for barter, by Native Americans of the Great Plains and Southwest. In contrast, captured children were often treated well, in hopes they would become loyal adult members of the tribe. Sarah is also unusual in that, when presented with the possibility of repatriation into European society after such a long absence, she is hesitantly enthusiastic, rather than fearful, and wants to bring her son with her. Apparently, this is because of the abusive treatment she has received from her husband and perhaps others. Sarah is also unusual in that captives who had spent some years living without contact with Europeans usually had forgotten nearly all their native language. Also, repatriated captives, especially women who had born children, were typically shunned as 'damaged goods'. Her Apache husband, by word of mouth, is portrayed as an unlikely superhuman: killing everyone by himself, at the isolated stage and train stations through which, Peck, Sarah and the boy passed, before trailing them to Peck's cabin in NW New Mexico.(How did he know where they were going or how to get there, especially since they traveled by train part way??.)Clearly, Sarah knew she was taking a big risk in bringing her son with her. Clearly, her son has divided loyalties toward her and his father, attempting to run away twice, once toward his father when he shows up outside Peck's cabin. She hoped she would obtain sufficient protective transport to some unknown destination beyond the practical reach of her husband. Like Peck's character, I don't understand why she didn't wait a few days to accompany the cavalry, rather than pressuring Peck alone to accompany her on an immediate flight toward public transport. Then, at the stage station, why did she accept Peck's suggestion that she change her destination from Topeka, KS: presumably beyond the range for her husband to find her, to Peck's isolated cabin in nearby NM, which might be within the practical range for her husband to find her? Yes, I understand that she had no idea how she might survive in Topeka or anywhere else, and that Peck seemed a kindly man, who offered an immediate home for her, but at the risk of endangering all their lives.In contrast to some of the other reviewers here, this film does not generally receive enthusiastic reviews from the professional reviewers, who complain it's too slow paced and lacking in action, except in the last part. Certainly , those who like fast action westerns , with bits of comedy and social gatherings thrown in, are advised to skip this one. On the other hand, Eva does as excellent job portraying a woman in a bad situation, who is confused what to do for her future and that of her son. The relationship between her, her son and Peck is realistically portrayed as initially rocky, but promising. In the parting scene, Peck is suffering from 2 serious gunshot wounds, as well as the loss of his 2 farm hands. In addition, Sarah presumably is still recovering from the severe beating by her husband. Thus, in the short run, they are in bad shape for running the farm/ranch, and Peck may well die soon of his wounds. But the mood implication is that he will recover.The rugged desert canyon scenery of southern Nevada, and Sonora, Mexico, enhances the feeling of isolation and danger from an unseen lurking enemy, as well as being interesting to the viewer.

Gregory Peck, though not known for his Westerns, has done some of the best films in this genre. THE BIG COUNTRY stands as my favorite Western of all, though THE GUNFIGHTER, YELLOW SKY and THE BRAVADOS are all classics--thanks in no small part to Peck's wonderful performances. Well, unfortunately, this is no classic, though THE STALKING MOON is still a pretty good film.Part of the reason the film can't be placed in the same league as these other films is because of Peck's character. In these other films, he was a very strong and impressive character--with a lot to say. However, in THE STALKING MOON Peck's character is much more vague and much more like an action hero. There just isn't much in the way of character development or glimpses of who he was exactly supposed to be. Instead, for much of the film he just reacted to situations imposed upon him--in this case, being tracked down by a vengeful Indian who wants his wife and son back after they were rescued. The wife (Eva Marie Saint) was abducted by Indians many years before and the film opens with her being found by the cavalry. Peck comes into the picture because he's escorting the lady and boy to a new life when out of the blue the angry Indian begins attacking White settlers in an attempt to find the two.While the lack of depth to Peck's character is a bit of a problem, the only serious one is the clichéd way one of the minor characters, Ned, acted in the film--and why does there so often seem to be this suicidal character in movies? At this point in the film, the angry vengeful Indian is lurking outside. Ned's dog is killed and so Ned runs out in the middle of the night with no gun, no knife--nothing to defend himself against an Indian who has already killed about a dozen folks since the film began. No one is THAT stupid--and having him run out "dead meat" style is silly.Overall, it's a decent enough film that has a very tense and interesting ending--but not much more to it than that.

"The Stalking Moon" is perhaps one of the finest roles which Gregory Peck made in his career. Few western films evoke the kind of suspense and drama this film presents. Sam Varner is a U.S. Army scout hunting Apaches in the 1880's. His expertise is so keen, the army tries to insist his Indian knowledge is indispensable and unequaled by any white man. This includes the half breed Indian boy, Nick Tana (Robert Forster) whom Varner hopes will replace him as chief scout for the army. The day he retires from the army, Varner is made aware of the discovery of a white captive Sarah Carver, (Eva Marie Saint) found among the Apaches captured in a round-up. Having been taken hostage ten years prior, all she wants now is to escape to a place where her Indian husband cannot find her. Her insistence becomes apparent when Varner learns her boy, is the son of the most notorious and certainly the most dangerous Apache renegade since Geronimo. The deadly duel begins with the most experienced army scout trying to defend the White mother and her child, against an Apache warrior who's name "Salvaje" (Nathaniel Narcisco) is synonymous with " The Moon's Ghost," with a reputation so ruthless a company of soldiers died in a single night trying to fight him. (Noland Clay) plays the Indian Breed and is torn between his Indian Father and White Mother. The movie is enhanced and made more poignant with the tense dramatic action, skilled acting and haunting melody. One is thoroughly captivated with the film and when it reaches it's climax, it's sure to earn the coveted status of Classic. ****

Gregory Peck is an army scout trying to take back with her people a white woman (Eva Marie Saint) that has been rescued from the Apaches that kidnapped her some years before. The point is that she has become a mother while in captivity and the fierce Indian father of the kid (appropiately called Salvaje) goes after them to recover his son no matter what.The plot is quite simple and yet this is not an ordinary western. It is full of suspense and menace, both very well handled by director Robert Mulligan. Salvaje is never at sight but he is always there as a real and deadly menace. The atmosphere is perfectly achieved and the picture is a thrilling experience all along in spite of a bit of excess in its duration; perhaps a 10 minutes cut might have been better.Mulligan was a skillful director, not very prolific, but with other fine films in his account such as the excellent "To Kill a Mockingbird" (also with Peck), the enjoyable "Summer of '42" and the fine thriller "The Other" unfairly underrated no doubt.With "The Stalking Moon" Mulligan tries his hand at westerns and he gets an interesting one that suits the genre's fans and surely thriller's fans too.