![]() Welles plays Hank Quinlan, a good cop gone bad who “never framed anybody – unless they were guilty” in this stunning reminder of Welles’s genius. Widmark is sensational as the doomed protagonist always running from someone or something as his life spirals out of control. Night and the City (Jules Dassin, 1950)īlacklisted by Hollywood, Dassin relocated to London for this lacerating tale of spiv Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) who always seems to find himself behind the eight ball despite his grandiose plans. ![]() A smouldering Ava Gardner has a lot to do with Lancaster’s demise, but the film is most famous for its opening 10 minutes as two shadowy figures drive through the New Jersey night, terrorise a diner owner and then blast the acquiescent Lancaster to death, all set to Miklos Rozsa’s doom-laden soundtrack.ġ3. In the signature flashback scenes we find out just what. And did I mention that unforgettable theme from David Raksin?įamous adaption of the Hemingway short story about an insurance investigator piecing together the mystery of why ex-boxer Burt Lancaster (in his movie debut) was murdered by hit men after he “did something wrong once”. Mesmerising, elegant, and wonderfully stylish with a stand out performance from Clifton Webb as the effete, waspish newspaper columnist who types in the bath. ![]() The real Laura (a luminous Gene Tierney) turns up and the detective in charge of the case who is initially entranced by Laura’s portrait and then by Laura herself, must unravel the mystery. Innovative sets and lighting and the first-person narration established Dymtryk as an early noir pioneer and Chandler himself considered Powell as close to his ideal screen Marlowe.įree spirit Laura is found murdered, but it’s a case of mistaken identity. Song and dance man Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe forged a whole new tough guy career for himself in this version of Raymond Chandler’s Farewell My Lovely, with Mike Mazurki in the role he was born to play: slow-witted ex-con Moose Malloy. ![]() Savage’s demise is a doozy and has to be seen to be believed.ġ6. Neal takes the deceased’s car and identity but is soon rumbled by trampish Ann Savage, who puts the squeeze on the hapless dope. ![]() Hitchhiker Tom Neal is unable to stop the chain of events that lead to his downfall after being picked up by on the highway by a driver who then ups and dies on him. Claustrophobic, shadow filled cinematography, a torture scene involving a hearing aid and some infamously overt sexual imagery have helped make The Big Combo a cult item that flaunted the Hollywood production code.Ī bona fide low-budget cult classic this one, and all in less than 68 delirious minutes. Obsessive cop Cornel Wilde vows to bring down insidious crime lord Richard Conte but finds his judgement flawed by his attraction for the gangster’s mistress. An essential example of Lang’s relentless and unforgiving auteur style. Righteous cop Glenn Ford then teams up with the disfigured moll to bring the guilty parties, cops as well as gangsters, to book for the murder of his wife. Memorable then as now for the shocking scene when sadistic thug Lee Marvin throws boiling coffee over his moll, Gloria Grahame. ![]()
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