With so many great, all but forgotten, little films noir on DVD (or ‘streamable’), perhaps it’s a useful corrective to have a few stinkers in the mix just to keep things honest. And they hardly come stinkier than this low-budget nothing-burger from talent-challenged Jack Bernhard (12 pics & out over four years on ‘Poverty Row’). One numbingly utilitarian shot follows another in painfully dreary fashion, as Preston Foster’s police detective checks up on the gal he loved yet put away for murder & robbery. That’s ‘Belita,’ a novelty star who ice-skated her way into a few roles before quitting the biz. Things improve just a bit when noir icon Charles McGraw shows up for half a reel as a California police dick who stumbles upon the real guilty party, but way too little & way too late to help. For those who are interested, Belita’s skating routine comes about halfway in and, hey!, she’s a pretty good skater for the period. Yawn.
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: For a fine example of just how far a tiny budget could take you in ‘48, try Edgar G. Ulmer’s RUTHLESS, a sort of zero-budget CITIZEN KANE. Though best known for the striking minimalism of tour de force noir DETOUR/’45, give Ulmer a few extra nickels and he was capable of larger things.
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