7/10. William Holden shines in this run of the mill fifties noir.
Edmond O'Brien heads up a city wide crime commission set to take down syndicate boss Ed Begley. William Holden is the cynical crime desk reporter who reluctantly joins the cause.
In all honesty this is a pretty forgettable story. a film that would have stood out a decade earlier, but was past it's prime on it's release. Aside from the well written dialogue, William Holden is this films saving grace.
Caught between his performances in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17, Holden outdoes everyone in this relatively unheard of noir. It's easy to see why, it's basically a rehash of early noirs, only with conservative camera work, and not-so-special art direction. The other players are well known but fail to offer anything exceptional. Maybe I'm prejudiced, as Holden is my favorite actor of his time, but he really earns the top billing he receives. I would have loved to see what could have been accomplished without what appeared to be director William Dieterle holding him back. I'm not badmouthing Dieterle, but he seemed to be running things like it was still the thirties or forties. It really took a modern innovator like Billy Wilder to let Holden cut loose and show his chops.
Oh and criminal standby Neville Brand makes a brief appearance as a hitman. Love that guy too.
So if you're a Holden fan like me, you should check this one out. If you're just looking for a good noir to watch, there's better stuff out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments should follow the netiquette golden rule. Rude comments will be deleted, as will spam.