Small potatoes film noir is hardly worth the effort. Shot in Puerto Rico, it’s a final credit for legendary lenser Karl Struss (SUNRISE/’27; DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE/’31; SIGN OF THE CROSS/’32) without a decent film since LIMELIGHT/’52. Let’s hope he enjoyed the weather as story & acting leave just about everything to be desired. Forrest Tucker is unintentionally unsympathetic as an innocent man on the run from a murder charge, holed up with a cute local kid to play go-between while he waits for his gal pal to hit town; hopefully before the real killer finds him. Elsewhere on the island: local insurance agent holds back on a big payout; bit smuggler tails the kid to find Tucker; and a fat, sleazy lawyer thinks he can make like Sydney Greenstreet. (He can’t.) Add in forgettable nightclub songs for our lady friend to match some unforgettably bad acting and there’s little director Kurt Neumann can do. Guess you could say he’s up to the challenge.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Note all the empty space in the frame above the actors in most shots. That’s because it was shot in Academy Ratio but meant to be trimmed to anything between 1.66 and 1.85-to-1 by the projectionist. You can do much the same with most DVD players by bumping up the image one step. It really helps wake up the shots. Just don’t use the 16x9 anamorphic stretch mode.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: (A re-posting from Hollywood’s Department of Tall Tales.) Did Forrest Tucker really have the biggest schlong in old Hollywood? Stories tell of Mario Lanza pulling his out at restaurants and whacking his wanger on the table. John Ireland allegedly lost screen time in RED RIVER after Howard Hawks got word of him ‘showing off.’ Desi Arnaz & Milton Berle also have their champions. But only Forrest Tucker was known to putt with his; dropping to his knees on the golf course to take a swing. (He had to lean forward a bit, but still . . . )
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