The talented rookie who was at his best before success put him on the A-list is an old story, and not only in Hollywood. But it was rampant among a group of rising directors who got their start around WWII. Edward Dmytryk probably best known of the gang, likely because, as one of the Hollywood Ten, his line of demarcation neatly splits into Before Jail & After. But Richard Fleischer may be its exemplar, the quality of his films largely moving in reverse proportion to his budgets. Given little to spend, you get THE NARROW MARGIN/’52 (https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-narrow-margin-1952.html); give him a blank check and DOCTOR DOLITTLE/’67 might pop up. (https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2012/08/doctor-dolittle-1967.html). That said, there are some exceptions, and this early programmer is prentice work. (Same for scripter Carl Forman who quickly moved on to CHAMPION/’49, HOME OF THE BRAVE/’49, YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN/’50, THE MEN/’50 and HIGH NOON/’52.*) This WWII tale stars Bill Williams (né Hermann August Wilhelm Katt) already married to co-star Barbara Hale (handsome offspring William Katt brought back the family name in CARRIE/’76 and BIG WEDNESDAY/’78). Antagonists when they meet, he’s on the lam from a military hospital, charged with the death of her husband back in the Phillippines and looking for the real killer. It’s a lot like THE FUGITIVE/’93, right down to the turn-coat villain. Best things in here some location chase work in a rundown area of L.A.’s Chinatown, a cool flashback that adds infra-red photography to the usual film noir ‘memory whorls,’ and seeing how much Bill Williams looks like his wicked handsome son from certain angles. But better things soon to come from many involved here.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Carl Forman’s liberal sensibilities show when he apologizes for using a stereotypical WWII ‘Jap’ villain (Richard Loo) and shows a Military Certificate of Honor framed in the apartment of a Japanese-American widow who helps Williams at a critical moment.
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