Runtime: 78 minutes
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Starring: Aldo Ray, Brian Keith, Anne Bancroft, Jocelyn Brando, James Gregory
From: Columbia
While I saw this late Saturday night on TCM-as part of the deal where they show one film noir each late Saturday night-it wasn't until now that I had the time to finish the review. It definitely fits into that category even if it came late in the run of the classic noir era. The movie has a breathy dame w/ a husky voice (a quality performance from Anne Bancroft), a poor schlub named Jim who is falsely accused-probably one of Aldo Ray's best roles-and two hissable villains who were pretty vile, John and Red (Brian Keith and Rudy Bond).
The film begins late at night in Los Angeles, and for the first 20 minutes or so we are introduced to the main players-there is also an insurance investigator and his wife. Jim has no idea that anyone was tailing him until the bad guys made their presence known. He was a man walking solo around downtown and ended up in a small restaurant/bar... literally the sort of place where a dude named Shorty would play piano. Plenty of flashbacks appear which explain Jim's situation and why some A-holes and the insurance investigator believe he has a crapton of cash.
It was a compelling story from the very beginning which has the expected direction, tone, lighting, hard-boiled dialogue, etc. The war of words between John, Red and Jim was especially a highlight. Part of the movie takes place in Wyoming and thankfully there was location shooting to bring that lovely scenery to life. Mix in an ending with gruesome implications which will remind you of a famous crime drama from the 90's and this is late noir worth tracking down.
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