Gus: “What about this dame, Mr. Crystal Ball?” Walter: “A dish.” Gus: “What kind of a dish?” Walter: “Sixty-cent special. Cheap, flashy. Strictly poison under the gravy.”” Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe) are Los Angeles police detectives, having just arrived in Chicago to corral Mrs. Neall, the widow of a notorious gangster. Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor) has been called to testify … Continue reading The Narrow Margin (1952)
Michael Lambert (Glenn Ford) is a truck driver, but he won’t be for long. He’s just crashed his truck into a car. The car’s owner, Jeff Cunningham (Edgar Buchanan), decides to take Michael to court. Michael is saved by an unexpected source, a beautiful barmaid named Paula (Janis Carter) who scrimps together the money to pay his bail. Unfortunately for Michael, Paula’s motives are not … Continue reading Framed (1947)
“I was born four months ago, by the side of a road. Anything that went before happened to somebody else.” Chris Smith (Robert Webber) is an American man recovering in an English hospital after a car accident. His name isn’t actually Chris Smith at all. So awful were his injuries that he lost his memory, leading the hospital staff to assign him a bland alias … Continue reading Hysteria (1965)
Tommy Gordon (John Garfield) thinks he’s invincible. Deeply involved in the criminal underworld, he has no fears of being shipped away to prison. He has too many friends and allies for that. At least, that’s what he believes. His tune changes when, after an arrest, his friends swiftly abandon him — with the exception of his devoted girlfriend, Kay (Ann Sheridan), who will do anything … Continue reading Castle on the Hudson (1940)
“For the night is already at hand, and it is well to yield to the night.” Mary Hilton (Diana Dors) has committed a serious crime. In broad daylight, she shot and killed another woman. Now she sits in prison, awaiting her own execution. What could possess a young salesgirl, with her entire life ahead of her, to become a cold-blooded killer? And does she truly … Continue reading Yield to the Night (1956)
“Born with an alibi in your mouth, huh? Nick Scanlon (Robert Ryan) is a mobster who has done well for himself, not only building a criminal empire but managing to buy the loyalty of several local government bigwigs. There’s one influential fella he can’t seem to crack, though. Tom McQuigg (Robert Mitchum), a police captain, refuses every bribe (and, furthermore, wants nothing more than to … Continue reading The Racket (1951)
Jonah Goodwin (Thomas Mitchell) and Olaf Johnson (John Qualen) are a tailor and a cook, living in Brooklyn. Life isn’t rosy, but the men have one thing that keeps them going: the fishing trips they take together after work. They dream of buying a larger boat, which would allow them to leave their jobs and become professional fishermen. But, they’ve got families to support, so … Continue reading Out of the Fog (1941)
Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley) has had a nightmare. In the dream, he saw himself stabbing a man in a room full of mirrors, before tossing the man’s body into a closet. When Vince wakes up, he wonders if his dream may have been reality. He has mysterious marks on his throat, and a key he doesn’t recognize in his pocket. His pal Cliff (Paul Kelly) … Continue reading Mill Creek Musings: Fear in the Night (1947)
Happy #Noirvember! TMP has celebrated film noir with a review from the genre every Sunday this month. To bring the celebration to a close, today’s film is 1950’s Backfire. Previously in this series: When Strangers Marry (1944), Decoy (1946), No Man of Her Own (1950) Bob Corey (Gordon MacRae) was wounded near the end of the second World War and is now attempting to recover … Continue reading Backfire (1950)
Happy #Noirvember! TMP is celebrating the genre this month with a noir review every Sunday. Today’s review is also a part of the Barbara Stanwyck Filmography Project, one of her many films noir, No Man of Her Own. Previously in this series: When Strangers Marry (1944), Decoy (1946) The police are after Helen Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck). In her once-happy home in the sleepy town of … Continue reading No Man of Her Own (1950)
