This is a rock solid and well above average film noir. It concerns the captain of a small commercial boat who struggles to make ends meet and provide for his family. When the opportunity comes along for him to use his boat for risky, illegal, but somewhat well-paying work, he feels he has no choice but to accept. In typical, classic crime film fashion, things spiral out of control from there.
The one thing that holds this back from being great is a slightly slow middle third. The opening is good, as is the last half-hour, but it stalls for time a bit between those two parts. You could almost zone out for the middle half-hour and not miss much; it really only serves to set up the climactic scenes, and takes a fairly long time to do so.
Funnily enough, the more time it spends on the boat (which it does for much of the first third and final third), the better the film gets; the claustrophobic, constantly rocking setting really helps with the film's tension and high stakes story.
Also interesting is how such an old movie had a Black supporting character whose race wasn't really a mandated part of the plot. It's rare to see much diversity in films that are this old, and usually, it's only if it's a historical film that demands certain actors be of a certain race. I'm not saying The Breaking Point is the only film to do this (and it's not progressive by modern standards or anything), but it stands out for a film released in 1950.
The one thing that holds this back from being great is a slightly slow middle third. The opening is good, as is the last half-hour, but it stalls for time a bit between those two parts. You could almost zone out for the middle half-hour and not miss much; it really only serves to set up the climactic scenes, and takes a fairly long time to do so.
Funnily enough, the more time it spends on the boat (which it does for much of the first third and final third), the better the film gets; the claustrophobic, constantly rocking setting really helps with the film's tension and high stakes story.
Also interesting is how such an old movie had a Black supporting character whose race wasn't really a mandated part of the plot. It's rare to see much diversity in films that are this old, and usually, it's only if it's a historical film that demands certain actors be of a certain race. I'm not saying The Breaking Point is the only film to do this (and it's not progressive by modern standards or anything), but it stands out for a film released in 1950.