Some movies have a habit of seeming longer than they really are, whether it's because the plot takes too long to get going, a lack of music or some other reason. Hunt the Man Down doesn't really have any of these problems, but it still felt quite long to me despite only being about 70 minutes. I think this is due to the linear nature of the story, which follows a decade old murder case, and the main character won't stop until he sees the outcome of it (predictably). The plot begins with a girl in an LA bar getting robbed by someone in a trench coat. Someone who works at the bar attacks the bandit and shoots him. Some time later, the heroic deed appears in the newspaper and is noticed by investigator Paul Bennett (Gig Young). Strangely, the hero didn't want his picture taken for the papers, but Paul soon finds out why: the person responsible for shooting the robber is actually Richard Kinkaid (James Anderson), a wanted criminal tied to a 12 year old murder case. Despite most people thinking the contrary, Paul believes that Kinkaid is innocent. He then embarks on a quest to find the original 7 witnesses associated with the case (back in 1938) in order to find the truth about Kinkaid. He was accused of murder because at a house party 12 years ago, he met Kerry McGuire and his wife Alice. Also at the party were Walter Long, Rolene Woods, Brick Appleby, Patricia Sheldon (Cleo Moore) and Joan Brian. The latter's husband Dan came to the party and threatened to shoot Kinkaid if he didn't stay away from her. Dan almost shoots Kinkaid, but is disarmed. People attending the party restrain Kinkaid, who says "it's a good thing your friends are here or I'd kill you." That same day, Dan was found dead in his house with a pistol nearby, and Kinkaid's prints were on it. He was apparently out for a walk around the same time Dan was murdered, but someone saw him leave the house and thought the killing should be blamed on him. 12 years later, Paul tries to track down the witnesses to this crime, but it proves hard since most of them want to distance themselves from that night, and others have endured lifechanging events. Appleby, made blind during his service in Italy during World War 2, works with books now. Kerry and Alice are now divorced. Walter went on to marry Joan after Dan was killed, and Rolene, her existence a closely guarded secret, spends her life in her room and became deranged. During the trial at the end, Kinkaid is expected to be found guilty, but Paul calls Patricia to the witness stand. She reveals she had changed her name since the murder, and two years after it she was engaged to Appleby. Right when she was about to marry him, he was drafted. While he was in the military, Pat started seeing Kerry McGuire instead. Pat is also pressured into giving up knowledge that suggests she was blackmailed by Kerry about her involvement in Dan's killing, so she later sent two people to kill him. Paul keeps trying to trap Patricia in incriminating questions, and she eventually reveals she went home with Rolene that night, waited for her to fall asleep, and then went to kill Dan. She tries denying that she ever left her apartment, but Rolene shows up in the courtroom and recognizes Patricia, so there really isn't any point. Now that Paul has solved the case, he wants Patricia to be held for further questioning. I thought this movie was ok. The storyline is quite confusing and although I didn't expect this particular ending, I've seen this cliche before. Of course the cute girl whom nobody suspects is going to be the murderer. Speaking of which, Cleo was also in that movie where she is an accomplice to her boyfriend who kills the owner of a junkyard by running him over, making it pretty similar to this one. With that film, the audience is in on the fact that she's guilty of something, but here, it's unknown to us until the final moments. Since the film doesn't really have any well known actors (except her), it felt more amateurish than most other crime movies I've looked at. Still, it doesn't overstay its welcome due to the runtime and the concept of trying to solve a mystery long after its debut is original, so it could be a lot worse.
Review of Hunt the Man Down
