A Black and White Movie in Color

The use of colour is excellent, it was a very unusual thing to do at the time. Reflections in a Golden Eye does a similar thing, with a gold patina over the entire film (however, the studio later objected, and had regular coloured prints released, if you buy the DVD you can see the regular colour look on the trailer).

I suspect Wellman regretted making this film simply because ultimately it wasn't very successful. It was a real labour of love for him, and the only way he got it made was because John Wayne produced it (read, paid for it) as a 'thank you' to Wellman after the success of The High and the Mighty, that was released four months earlier.

The irony for me is that Track of the Cat is a far superior film! The High and the Mighty is a boring disaster film crossed with a network narrative, that just lacks any real tension. Track of the Cat lives on as one of the most unusual Hollywood films produced during the 1950s.

I believe the color filming of the mostly black and white set gave an eeriness to the film and emphasized the good vs. evil theme. The panther, described as black, also represents evil.

With the contrasting color being Mitchum's red coat, the film reminds me of the currently popular black and white photos with the single red rose. I believe the use of color is very effective in creating the feeling of suspense in this movie.
Sheila Beers