I'd never heard of it until recently but can thoroughly recommend it to all fans of noir. It has twists and turns, some predictable, most not. Clever dialogue, chemistry beween actors, the story moves along at a nice speed.
A +++++
His name was Jackson. Probably still is.
I enjoyed it too, except I saw it on public television, where it sounded like it was recorded in a Rice Krispies factory located deep inside a well and looked as though it had been filmed through a Vaseline-clouded lens. Otherwise, a fine movie with a credible story line.
Am I anywhere near the imaginary cliff?share
hahaha
i just watched a couple nights ago at 4AM on the local PBS station here...and yeah it looked terrible..so terribly i really felt like i had i was better off shutting it off about 20 min in and just wait for it to pop up on tcm sometime (or even netflix it sometime)
I should add that when i said it looked terrible i meant physically!
it was just verrrry scratchy...truly TCM has spoiled me, but damnit if i'm gonna invest the time and i'm watching it on cable i want it to look good...if i'm watching it on my old antenna that's fine...but it was well it was like trying to watch a movie through a fogged up windshield at an old drive-in...foggy.
I've got an almost pristine copy with very good sound. I lucked out and you didn't.
Nothing is more beautiful than nothing.
The PD copy on archive.org isn't great but it's more than watchable. A great film and I really enjoyed it.
shareThe Image DVD is nearly perfect. I paid through the nose for it, but it was worth it. Impact has always been on of my favorites.
He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45
Yeah it is a nice little movie. I love the cast. It is a public domain but there are good copies to be had.
When there are two, one betrays-Jean-Pierre Melville
"I love the cast."
United Artists distributors employed two famous actresses from the beginning of American movies in this flick.
"Mom" is played by Mae Marsh who had major roles in D.W. Griffith's classics, The Birth of a Nation (1915), and Intolerance.
Anna May Wong - the lowly "maid" who saves the case - started her film career in 1919.
E pluribus unum
I just finished watching this movie and am adding it to my top ten movies of all time. The copy I watched was pristine in both sound and video.
shareWell, I would not add it to my top ten movies ("Reckless Moment" with Joan Bennett, "Conflict" and "Dark Passage" both with Humphrey Bogart and "My Name is Julia Ross" with Nina Foch definitely create much more suspense), but it's a nice little film noir.
shareI found it rather disappointing. From what I had read, I expected better. A great film noir needs a great script, with a well constructed story. With what the police knew, it was completely non-sensical for them to accuse Walter of murdering Jim. The idea of committing a murder by intentionally driving the car with your victim into a big truck, and jumping out of the car as it is moving, is so absurd as to defy belief. When the prosecutor came up with that, it ruined it. The courtroom scene also seemed like it was written by kids. A prosecutor can't stand up in court and announce that he is dropping charges against the defendant, and charging a witness. In a great movie, you get immersed in the story and don't think you are watching actors. Here it made you well aware it was actors reciting lines that didn't work.
shareI thought that Helen Walker was the standout in an Angela Lansbury type role. Donlevy goes way over the top in his lovey-dovey relationship with his wife, that obviously is not returning any of his affection. The courtroom scene was subpar and the ending was rushed. Good shots of 1940's San Francisco and the small town of Larkspur. Otherwise, it's a pretty good story with okay acting.
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