Leonard Diamond is a world-weary cop with a big chip on his shoulder about Mr Brown, the city syndicate boss. Determined to bring in this overblown hoodlum, Diamond seems oblivious to his self-destructive behaviour and the risks to those around him.
What's perhaps most striking about this low-budget fifties film noir minor classic is how unremittingly bleak it is. Its hero is a loser of a cop who can't really unearth any evidence and who hangs out with strippers, its villain is a chilling psychopath who takes pleasure in beating and belittling everyone around him, it's populated almost entirely with seedy and cynical characters, and pretty much everyone winds up either dead or irrevocably tarnished. It was made at a time when Blackboard Jungle seemed daring, yet it plays much more like Goodfellas, or the films of Abel Ferrara. It has a few limitations - some of the acting is a bit stiff and the production design is pretty threadbare - but it's flashy stuff with plenty of sourball dialogue and shocking moments. The cast are an interesting bunch of misfits; Wilde was a big star in his day and his company (Theodora) funded the film, Conte (who made several great noir pictures) steals the movie as the Nietzschean head hoodlum, blondie Wallace was Wilde's real-life wife, Donlevy was another gangster pro as well as being the first Professor Quatermass, Stanton really perks up the picture as Diamond's sultry girl Rita, and Van Cleef and Holliman as killers Fante and Mingo are probably more famous than anyone, from movies like Escape From New York and Forbidden Planet. Shot by the extremely talented John Alton (Elmer Gantry), this film doesn't quite make it into the top pantheon of crime classics for me; it comes too late for the classic early-forties period, and it's not quite as stylish or dramatic as the best films of the late fifties (such as Edge Of The City or Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud). It is a terrific thriller though, and a great timepiece of independent American cinema.
What's perhaps most striking about this low-budget fifties film noir minor classic is how unremittingly bleak it is. Its hero is a loser of a cop who can't really unearth any evidence and who hangs out with strippers, its villain is a chilling psychopath who takes pleasure in beating and belittling everyone around him, it's populated almost entirely with seedy and cynical characters, and pretty much everyone winds up either dead or irrevocably tarnished. It was made at a time when Blackboard Jungle seemed daring, yet it plays much more like Goodfellas, or the films of Abel Ferrara. It has a few limitations - some of the acting is a bit stiff and the production design is pretty threadbare - but it's flashy stuff with plenty of sourball dialogue and shocking moments. The cast are an interesting bunch of misfits; Wilde was a big star in his day and his company (Theodora) funded the film, Conte (who made several great noir pictures) steals the movie as the Nietzschean head hoodlum, blondie Wallace was Wilde's real-life wife, Donlevy was another gangster pro as well as being the first Professor Quatermass, Stanton really perks up the picture as Diamond's sultry girl Rita, and Van Cleef and Holliman as killers Fante and Mingo are probably more famous than anyone, from movies like Escape From New York and Forbidden Planet. Shot by the extremely talented John Alton (Elmer Gantry), this film doesn't quite make it into the top pantheon of crime classics for me; it comes too late for the classic early-forties period, and it's not quite as stylish or dramatic as the best films of the late fifties (such as Edge Of The City or Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud). It is a terrific thriller though, and a great timepiece of independent American cinema.