The Fugitive (1947)

In a Latin American country where the government has outlawed public religious displays, the last priest (Henry Fonda) in a village seeks refuge in a church, disguised as a peasant. Discovered by an Indian woman, Maria (Dolores del Río), the priest agrees to baptize her children and other poor people in the village. The priest's efforts to escape the military police are constantly upset by the desperate religious demands of the local people, and a beggar intent on turning him in.

"The Fugitive" was considered by Ford to be one of his best; most critics, including many Ford afficionados, disagree. While I wouldn't rank it up there with his best either, I think the film (like Ford's final film "Seven Women") has gotten an undeserved bad rap. Sure, the religious iconography gets way out of hand at times and the pace is a bit wobbly but there's much to offset the film's shortcomings. Most obviously - and no one will deny this - it is a beautiful film to look at. It is one of the great photographic achievements in cinema history. The moody expressionism that finally got somewhat oppressive and dull in Ford's "The Informer" is here counterbalanced by exquisite outdoor scenery of the Mexican countryside where "The Fugitive" was shot. The film also features an odd, mopey performance from Henry Fonda that works quite well within the context of the story. Although in the end it's a bit simplistic it does have an undeniable poetry in it that is in the league of the director's finest work.