I saw a coming attraction for this movie one day on TCM. I'd never heard of it, but the clips they used for the preview made it look like a terrific noir, and I couldn't wait to see it. It didn't live up to the expectations. It's a good movie, but it's not even one of the more memorable noirs from the 40s. In fact, it's not really much of a noir once you get past the moody black and white photography (which is one of the film's greatest assets by the way) and its cynical tone. It's much more of a standard crime picture with a gritty documentary-like sheen, the kind the studios were churning out left and right in the late 40s and early 50s, but it didn't leave as much of an impression on me as, say, "The Naked City," "Night and the City," or "Panic in the Streets."
John Garfield, however, is extremely good in the lead role. I haven't seen him in that many things, but he's a kindred spirit of Marlon Brando's: the brooding tough guy whose sneering mug hides a warm and very human streak. He never seemed to get his full due as an actor--if I'm not mistaken, he made his last film not long after this one, sometime in the early to mid 1950s.
"Force of Evil" is definitely worth a look.
Grade: B
John Garfield, however, is extremely good in the lead role. I haven't seen him in that many things, but he's a kindred spirit of Marlon Brando's: the brooding tough guy whose sneering mug hides a warm and very human streak. He never seemed to get his full due as an actor--if I'm not mistaken, he made his last film not long after this one, sometime in the early to mid 1950s.
"Force of Evil" is definitely worth a look.
Grade: B