Alan Ladd’s company produced this little noirish revenge pic with him as an ex-cop just out of prison after being framed for manslaughter. Met by cop pal William Demerest and loyal ex-wife Joanne Dru, all he wants is some space to go after dockyards boss Edward G. Robinson who’s sure to know the score. It’s a good, twisty tale, with excellent support from henchmen like Paul Stewart and his unexpectedly classy girlfriend Fay Wray. They even throw in a kid to interact with Ladd for a bit of SHANE action. But, in a reverse from film noir norm, the material is better than the execution. To his credit, Ladd ignored the era’s ‘Grey List’ of proscribed talent with Leftist leanings, giving Edward G. Robinson his first A-pic in years and hiring Frank Tuttle who directed Ladd’s breakthru THIS GUN FOR HIRE/’42. But where Eddie G comes thru in spades, sadistic & gleefully menacing, Tuttle seems all used up except for some well-staged fights, defeated by CinemaScope’s wide open frame, rarely putting in foreground objects while holding to proscenium centered camera set-ups with an unchanging walking pace.* Still watchable, with the story building as it goes along and the great cinematographer John Seitz turning flat, boldly color-schemed sets into near abstractions. A RED-tiled Men’s Room for a fight; Robinson’s sickly, oppressive GREEN & YELLOW kitchen. A very distinctive look.
DOUBLE-BILL: As mentioned above, Ladd & Tuttle at their best in THIS GUN FOR HIRE.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Robinson was fully rehabilitated next year, thanks to C. B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, but Tuttle only managed two more credits before dying in ‘63.
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