JOHN PAYNE, like Dick Powell, began the earlier part of his career as the romantic leading man for Betty Grable, Alice Faye and June Haver in Fox backstage musicals--and like Powell, when he left his singing roles in that genre he branched out into tough guy crime films or westerns when he entered the free-lancing phase of his career.
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL is evidence that he succeeded in making that choice. It's a gritty crime film about a bank heist, an innocent victim (Payne), the mastermind behind the heist (PRESTON FOSTER), and the three hoods played by the ultimate screen villains LEE VAN CLEEF, JACK ELAM and NEVILLE BRAND.
The opening scenes are guaranteed to hook you into the story, as the three hoods are trapped by a clever masked man into doing his dirty work. Once Payne has been hauled in by the police for some tough questioning, the story keeps getting more involved and more ambiguous as it suggests that Payne may want a share of the money because of all the injustices forced upon him by the police.
COLEEN GRAY hasn't got much of a role but it's Payne's film all the way and he gets excellent support from everyone else. JACK ELAM takes quite a bit of physical punishment in some graphic displays of temper from Foster and Payne.
Tight, suspenseful and well worth viewing, it's my kind of film noir.
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL is evidence that he succeeded in making that choice. It's a gritty crime film about a bank heist, an innocent victim (Payne), the mastermind behind the heist (PRESTON FOSTER), and the three hoods played by the ultimate screen villains LEE VAN CLEEF, JACK ELAM and NEVILLE BRAND.
The opening scenes are guaranteed to hook you into the story, as the three hoods are trapped by a clever masked man into doing his dirty work. Once Payne has been hauled in by the police for some tough questioning, the story keeps getting more involved and more ambiguous as it suggests that Payne may want a share of the money because of all the injustices forced upon him by the police.
COLEEN GRAY hasn't got much of a role but it's Payne's film all the way and he gets excellent support from everyone else. JACK ELAM takes quite a bit of physical punishment in some graphic displays of temper from Foster and Payne.
Tight, suspenseful and well worth viewing, it's my kind of film noir.