Review of The Outrage

Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" Americanized and moved to the Old West. A preacher, a con-man, and an old-timer rehash the recent conviction of a notorious Mexican bandit, deemed guilty of killing a newlywed traveler and raping his wife. Gimmick of the differing accounts preceding the crime provides the only interest; the characters, the literate but prosy dialogue, and the over-worked performance of a miscast Paul Newman as the mustachioed bandito are each in their own way utterly false. James Wong Howe's striking black-and-white cinematography provides an appropriately moody feel, and Alex North delivers yet another of his fabulous music scores, but the picture isn't intrinsically exciting--it alienates the audience. The various brutalities are gripping, though rather uncomfortable to watch (due to director Martin Ritt's sensationalist staging), while the final summation is muddled and unsatisfying. *1/2 from ****