“Whenever I deal with something dirty, I always get a little soiled.”

Tight Spot AKA Dead Pigeon is a little known but surprisingly good crime film, loaded with excellent performances, strong dialogue, and a very tight script. If you’re a fan of 50s gangster films, then there’s a good chance you may enjoy this one

The film begins with the murder of a snitch–would-be government witness Tonelli is assassinated before he can start singing in the courtroom. With the government case against mobster Benjamin Costain (Lorne Greene) weakening, district attorney Lloyd Hallett (Edward G Robinson) arranges for the transportation of the only remaining possible witness, good-time girl Sherry Conley (Ginger Rogers) from the state prison to a swanky hotel room. Here Hallett hopes to convince Sherry to get up into that witness stand and testify against the brutal Costain. Hallett has two carrots to help entice Sherry to testify: he promises to cut the remaining eleven months of her original 5 year sentence, and he also lectures her about her “debt to society.”

Costain’s trial is due to begin Monday morning, and on Saturday Sherry is transferred without a word of explanation from the prison to the fancy hotel. Her escorts are a prison guard, Willoughby (Katherine Anderson), and a hardened cop Vince Striker (Brian Keith).

The film is based on a play and the film certainly maintains a tense claustrophobic atmosphere with its limited, mainly interior scenes and very controlled situations. Over the course of the weekend, Sherry is pressured to comply with Hallett’s request to testify, but wise-cracking, tough-talking Sherry has learned all about self-preservation. She’s not about to put her life on the line to ‘protect’ a society that’s largely screwed her over, and when it comes to the idea that she owes a debt to society, Sherry doesn’t see it that way at all. Sherry is portrayed by Ginger Rogers as a basically decent person whose Achilles’ Heel just happens to be men. As far as I’m concerned, Ginger Rogers stole the film from her very first scene when she lectures a new prison inmate about how to slack off inside (”See if you can’t think about this joint as a training ground for future life”). This is an important character-setting scene as it establishes that Sherry is no dummy, and she’s not a pushover either. She’s not about to break her back working in the prison to help facilitate a system she despises.

Locked in the hotel room, Sherry begins to build relationships with Willoughby and Striker. While Willoughby treats Sherry with compassion, natural adversaries Sherry and Striker eyeball each other warily. To Striker, Sherry is just a gangster’s dame, and to Sherry, Striker is another no-good cop put on the planet to harass her. As Sherry’s story becomes clear, she earns grudging respect from Striker, and they begin to see each other as three-dimensional human beings. When Sherry’s sister arrives on the scene, even the DA begins to feel sorry for his potential star witness.

One very clever element used in the film is the concurrent television charity marathon, which features a soulful, annoying crooner. Just as the crooner is locked into the weekend’s action, Sherry and her protectors are stuck too. Sherry, however, is fully aware that she’s a sitting duck, and she’s not about to let herself be used in anyone’s game–no matter the bribes she’s offered. Alienated from a society that’s taught her to be wary of any government offers, she’s interested in self-preservation–until caring about other people finally breaks through her brittle veneer. From director Phil Karlson.

Some lines from the film:

“You mean you brought me up here to let me be insulted by some cheap dame even if she is my sister.”

“I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask if my civil rights is being violated.”

“Look sister, I wouldn’t know styles if you shoved ‘em down my throat.”

“Men–they ought to trade themselves in for something a girl really needs.”

“And being a cop, you can’t imagine it might be a phony rap, could you?”

“I thought newspaper reporters were supposed to be drunk by this time on Saturday night.”

“Here’s to the men who blow up prisons.”

“You’ve no idea how utterly desirable you are to a girl.”

“Government officials bribing people. I thought it was the other way around.”

“Maybe it doesn’t pay to be an honest hardworking woman.”

“Never mind how much you’d give, how much would you take?”

This Woman is Dangerous stars Joan Crawford as Beth Austin, member of the notorious Jackson Gang and girlfriend to brutal gangster Matt Jackson (David Brian). When the film begins, Beth, who’s experiencing blinding headaches, is told she will lose her sight unless she undergoes a dangerous experimental operation at the Halleck Clinic in Indiana.

After pulling off a bold robbery at a gambling den, Beth heads off to Indiana for surgery, while the rest of the gang–brothers Matt and Will (Philip Carey) and Will’s wife, Ann (Mari Aldon) remain behind. Beth is the cool head and brains of the operation, and when she leaves, she admonishes her jealous volatile boyfriend to keep a low profile.

While Beth undergoes the long ordeal of surgery and recovery, Matt goes ballistic stuck in a trailer waiting for news. Meanwhile Beth falls in love with her handsome, compassionate Doctor (Dennis Morgan) and this has violent repercussions.

This Woman is Dangerous was the last film Joan Crawford made for Warner Bros. Studios, and it was a film Joan loathed. The film’s main problem is its portrayal of Beth. The plot unfortunately only alludes to Beth’s dark past, and so Beth appears as a wealthy socialite (complete with mink stole) who’s done a little slumming with gangsters. While the persona of wealthy society dame is necessary for the robberies conducted by the Jackson gang, we never see beyond this portrayal. Beth is a complicated character, but the film chooses to portray her rather simply. There should be two sides to Beth–the woman who wants home and hearth, and gun moll Beth, but here she’s 100% genteel–desperate for respectability and domesticity. Just look at the eagerness with which she ties on that apron. Scenes at a women’s prison hint at a tough past and experiences that continue to haunt Beth. While with some tough dames, the soft mushy past is all but forgotten, with Beth the tough veneer is brittle and the softhearted tender woman is visible underneath. This leaves a main character who’s not quite damsel in distress but not quite believable as a tough gun moll either. And since Beth is supposed to be a bit of both, the film loses its edge of dark crime and Beth is seen more as a woman who’s been hanging out with the wrong crowd who then becomes an accidental criminal. From director Felix E Feist.

Some great lines:
Never mind how much you’d give, how much would you take?
Put on your trunks and jump in the lake.
My terms are a lot different for a good-looking woman than for a jealous man.

Entertaining and slightly different gangster film

In the Knockaround Guys, Matty Dermaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of infamous mobster Benny Chain (Dennis Hopper). Matty tries to establish an honest life, but when he’s turned down for a yet another job thanks to his known mob connections, Matty decides to ask dad and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) for a job in the family business interests. Matty passes on the favour to his friends–all childhood friends Matty knows through his mob connections. Soon, Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) is flying a plane across country with a bag full of cash–$500,000 to be exact.

Unfortunately, Marbles, who isn’t exactly a model of grace under pressure, is separated from the bag in Montana, and soon Matty has some fast explaining to do. Matty–along with his friends Johnny Marbles, Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli), and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel) descend on the tiny remote Montana town with the plan to get the money back before Benny Chain is held responsible for its loss.

I really enjoyed this film. I like gangster films, but I find that most of them seem heavy on violence and light on the plot, logic, and acting. One very fresh approach this film used was to stress the Italian mobsters at work in the Montana town. Some of the very best scenes occurred when Matty and his friends stumped by the seeming disappearance of the money, slowly and methodically devise a plan to rattle the natives. The natives’ response to the ‘tough guys’ is also a good part of this film. Matty and his friends are used to a certain amount of infamy and privilege that opens doors for them–how this translates to the barren, cowboy landscape of Montana is another matter. Matty and his friends are rather a motley bunch–they lack the credibility–with the exception of Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel)–and downright rottenness that their parents cultivated.

Incidentally, the role of Taylor Reese is a good one for Vin Diesel–as an actor, Vin Diesel is a lot more than muscle and tattoos. Pitch Black and Boiler Room showcased the sort of performances Vin Diesel is capable of, and I was pleased to see him in a role that allowed for another excellent performance. From directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Gritty film–well done–not always easy to watch

Director Adam Rifkin’s dark film, Night at the Golden Eagle, is the tale of Tommy and Mic–two aging, small-time hustlers. Tommy (Donnie Montemarano) is released from prison with the warning from the warden (James Caan in a cameo performance) that he doesn’t want to see him back again. Mic (Vinny Argiro), Tommy’s boyhood friend is outside the prison gates waiting for Tommy, and the joyful reunion lasts less than 2 minutes, and ends as soon as Tommy discovers that Mic has sold the car. Mic is trying to turn his career criminal life around. He’s living in a disgusting flophouse hotel called preposterously The Golden Eagle. Mic works as a night-time janitor at peep-show parlour, and between the sale of the car and his meagre earnings, he’s scraped together a grand sum total of $2,500. He has bus tickets to Vegas and dreams that he and Tommy will have a new life in Vegas as Blackjack dealers surrounded by strippers.

Unfortunately, some old habits are hard to break, and while Mic goes off to mop the floors at the peep-show parlour, Tommy invites a prostitute to his room. Tommy and Mic are supposed to leave for Vegas the next day. What can possibly got wrong with their plans?

Both Tommy and Mic have problems with reality–Tommy hasn’t changed one bit, and prison hasn’t reformed him or sparked the least introspection. Mic, on the other hand, is the more complex character. He has changed. He wants life to improve–unfortunately, he’s not realistic either, and his fantasies of a new life in Las Vegas are pathetic and yet necessary to his daily existence. All the hotel residents have some form of mental escape–drugs, sex, impossible dreams, and one can hardly blame them, for the reality which surrounds them all is the Golden Eagle Hotel–it’s hell incarnate, and who wants to be conscious of the fact that they are residents of hell?

I was hooked into this film within 5 minutes. The lead actors–Donny Montemarano and Vinny Argiro had absolutely no prior acting experience, and they were just incredible. Vinnie Jones as Rodan, the pimp, is a rather unpleasant character who exploits young runaway Loriann. Loriann is one of life’s victims who wanders into the neighbourhood, and is rapidly recruited by Rodan after one brief “training session” given by fellow veteran prostitute Sally (Ann Magnuson). Loriann and Sally soon form a poignant pseudo mother-daughter relationship, and Loriann’s fate is sealed.

The cinematography is amazing, and many of the shots are in a golden tone. This creates a rather bizarre effect–the sordid, filthy squalor of the hotel in a warm, rich glow. This is not a particularly easy film to watch–its dark, depressing, and unrelenting view of the residents of the Golden Eagle hotel is nothing short of depressing. If you liked the raw honesty of Requiem for a Dream, chances are you will like this too.

“Drop the cheesepuffs, Ma’am.”

The film Spun from director Jonas Akerland is a wild ride through the lives of several Crystal Meth users in Los Angeles. The main character, Ross (Jason Schwartzman) goes to the graffiti-covered, squalid house of dealer, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo). Spider Mike, who obviously tries too much of his own product, lives with bizarre and repugnant girlfriend, Cookie (Mena Suvari). Ross, who just wants to buy some Meth, is coerced into a relationship with the effervescent stripper, Nikki (Brittany Murphy). Nikki, who is the most functional character in the film (she works) is the girlfriend of “The Cook” (Mickey Rourke). Before long, Ross, the possessor of a tatty, brown Volvo, becomes the unofficial chauffeur for The Cook. Ross ferries The Cook back and forth across town seeking ingredients for Meth which The Cook manufactures in his hotel room.

Spun had my attention from beginning to end. None of the characters in this film are dull. John Leguizamo’s kinetic energy is perfect for the role of the tattooed, paranoid Spider Mike whose inability to concentrate frustrates everyone. Spider Mike’s hysteria is just below the surface–ready to explode, and he seems barely held in check. There’s Frisbee (Patrick Fugit) the acne-ridden, video-game addicted youth who hangs out with Spider Mike, and Deborah Harry plays a nosy neighbour with definite theories about men. However, Mickey Rourke as The Cook was fantastic and entirely, utterly believable. It’s great to see him playing a role that fits him like a glove, and Rourke’s laid-back approach underscores the single-minded focus of The Cook. The film includes the obligatory stripper-around-the-pole scenes, and nudity, sex and profanity abound. This is not some “Hollywood-goes-to-the-ghetto” film–this is raw, gritty, and very, very dark. However, the film is also hilarious, and this is why I loved it so much. Two Latina girls squabble over men while serving behind the counter at a local mini-market, and two policemen lead raids for the Cops programme. The portrayal of the Meth user was accurate and unmerciful–this film succeeded where Salton Sea did not. It takes sheer genius to portray the very ugly world of Meth and still scrape humour out from these dregs of humanity. If you decide to watch this film, DON’T get the rated version–it airbrushes human body parts and bleeps out some of the swear words–go for the unrated version. If you liked Requiem For A Dream there’s an excellent chance you’ll enjoy Spun too

“It will do you good to spend some time in prison.”

Johnny 100 Pesos is a very dark, strange Chilean crime film. When I say the film is ’strange’ I should add that there are moments of humor juxtaposed with moments of dark reality. And I’m not that sure we’re really meant to laugh at some of the funny moments at all. Perhaps they are just placed within the film to accentuate the horror that awaits some of these characters.

The film is set in Chile. The days of the military junta are over, but life is still tough for a great many Chileans. When the film begins, a 17-year-old student named Johnny (Armando Araiza), dressed in his school uniform, sits on the bus. He’s obviously nervous, and events indicate he’s an inept criminal. He enters a high-rise building and goes into an apartment that’s converted into a tiny video rental shop. There are just a few choices here, and the walls are covered with posters of various recognizable films–including Last Tango in Paris. But Johnny isn’t there to rent a videotape. He’s there, along with accomplices, to rob the shop which is a front for a money laundering business. The crime goes wrong, and the crooks and their hostages find themselves in a siege situation with Chilean police.

What ensues is a comedy/tragedy of errors. Holed up in the video shop, the criminals along with their various hostages are trapped. As the hapless thieves try to negotiate their way out, we get flashes of life in Chile. Blood-sucking paparazzi mercilessly hound Johnny’s mother for a hint of where he went ‘wrong’ in childhood, and government officials juggle the potentially disastrous situation with concerns that it won’t look ‘good’ for them if hostages are killed. Meanwhile post-Pinochet government officials who are ’sensitive’ to public opinion and public pressure must deal with others whose belief systems are locked in the ‘good old’ days–the hanging judge, a dinosaur from the Pinochet era, who couldn’t care less what happens to the hostages.

While the thieves are hardened criminals, Johnny is not. He’s never been to jail, and he has no idea of what awaits him. Some of the most powerful scenes in the film occur when the other gang members fill Johnny in with the details of what to expect in prison. One of the hostages is a beautiful ex-prostitute who’s married to the owner of the shop. She relates to Johnny and the poverty that drives him to crime. This is a very dark crime film, and although I expected it to be fairly mediocre, I enjoyed it far more than I expected. In Spanish with subtitles, Johnny 100 Pesos is directed by Gustavo Graef-Marino.

“I have been known to redistribute wealth.”

Armed with a brief note and a newspaper clipping informing him about his daughter’s seemingly accidental death, career criminal, Wilson (Terence Stamp) flies from London to Los Angeles to discover the truth. Wilson has had scanty contact with his daughter, Jenny, thanks to frequent jail sentences, so he operates from a degree of guilt mingled with a violent ability to make people see things his way. Wilson contacts his daughter’s friend, Eduardo (Luis Guzman), and he discovers that Jenny’s boyfriend, Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda) is mixed up with some very shady people. Operating on the theory that you shake the tree and see what falls out, Wilson contacts Valentine’s business acquaintances. It becomes immediately very clear that Jenny’s death was hardly an accident, and Wilson sets out to even the score.

The Limey is an excellent, quality entry in the British gangster genre. It’s a stylish film and uses flashback sequences to enter Wilson’s mind, but at the same time, the film is not spoiled by an over-reliance on style. There is still a nice, tight plot here–with very few deviations. Terence Stamp is great as the Cockney British gangster who remains silent most of the time, and when he does open his mouth, no one understands him. He is the complete opposite of Valentine (Peter Fonda). It’s impossible not to compare the two men as they are about the same age. Valentine seems like a powder puff next to the vengeful Wilson. Wilson’s quirky character is revealed a little more every time he opens his mouth, and through flashback sequences, we are privvy to the past that still haunts Wilson. Some of the flashbacks, however, appear to be how Wilson would prefer to remember the past–and these memories include casting himself in a slightly better light as a father. Wilson’s extensions of the truth parallel Valentine’s version of his fanciful life in the 60s.

If you enjoy The Limey then I also recommend The Hit directed by Stephen Frears. This film is a British gangster film also starring the highly talented Terence Stamp

“What good is the truth if it doesn’t sound true?”

In the film The Long Dark Hall married man Arthur Groome (Rex Harrison) finds out the hard way that bad things happen when you cheat on your wife and start running around with a London showgirl.

Arthur Groome appears to be a happily married man. He lives in a well-kept house in Richmond with his wife, Mary (Lilli Palmer) and their two daughters. But when the film begins, Groome has developed an unhealthy obsession with showgirl Rose Mallory (Patricia Cutts). Rose, on the other hand, is getting a little fed up with Groome’s possessiveness, so one night she breaks a date with him to meet someone else.

When Rose is horribly murdered, all the circumstantial evidence points to Groome as the guilty man. He left the scene of the crime, his prints are all over the murder weapon and Rose’s blood is on Groome’s clothes. Groome’s desire to hide his tawdry liaison with a showgirl leads him to make some very clumsy mistakes. While it’s perfectly natural for a man in his situation to try and hide his relationship with the victim, it’s also perfectly plausible that he killed her in a jealous rage. Depending on exactly how you read the evidence, you could decide that he just wanted to hide his adulterous conduct from his wife, but it’s also perfectly possible to come to the conclusion that Groome murdered Rose. While the police are initially sympathetic to Groome’s situation, soon, given the massive amount of circumstantial evidence, he is arrested and tried for the murder of his mistress.

The viewer is privy to Groome’s innocence right from the beginning. In fact we get a good look at the murderer’s face. Part police procedural, part courtroom drama, this interesting little film follows the case from the crime to the courtroom. And it’s here that Groome’s morals are on trial. After all, he’s a proven liar and a proven adulterer. Many people reason that he may very well be a murderer too.

In court Groome tries to plead that his ‘friendship’ with Rose was based on his desire to help her, but it’s a hollow excuse. One of the most damaging witnesses against him is Rose’s landlady, Mrs. Rogers (Brenda de Banzie). Her boarding house is run with some very lax rules, but in an attempt to cover this, she’s all too happy to smear Groome even further. Her testimony against Groome is tinged with her dislike for the man coupled with a desire to appear ‘respectable.’

The Long Dark Hall–a black and white film–makes excellent use of shadow and scenes of the deserted, wet London streets. The film’s title is reinforced by camera shots–the distance between the murderer and his victims, the distance down the hall to the victim’s room, and even the pathway to Groome’s house. There are two sections to the film that I particularly enjoyed. One scene shows the smoldering cigarette of the murdered Rose Mallory, and this scene cuts seamlessly to Groome’s cigarette. Another very skillful sequence of camera work involves the questioning of Rose’s landlady, Mrs. Rogers. When she appears in the witness box, she’s tarted up and is dressed inappropriately for the occasion. When asked if she runs a reputable boarding house, she protests violently. However, the questioning continues, and it become clear that Mrs. Rogers wasn’t too particular about the number of men who visited Rose. As Mrs. Rogers’ valiant efforts to appear respectable slip, her fur stole also slips from her shoulders. With each question it slips a little lower until she appears positively disheveled. Great stuff.

The film illustrates the problems with what appears to be an airtight murder case based on circumstantial evidence–evidence which could quite easily cause an innocent man to end up on the scaffold. Ultimately this well-made little film has a subtle anti death penalty message without all the chest beating and viewer bludgeoning. Directed by Reginald Beck and Anthony Bushell.

“What kind of a dame are you?”

In the dreary 1944 crime-thriller Dark Mountain, clean cut forest ranger, Don Bradley (Robert Lowery) loses childhood sweetheart Kay (Ellen Drew) to thug Steve Downey (Regis Toomey). Kay doesn’t know about her husband’s sordid career, but when he’s exposed, he forces Kay to go on the run with him with the police in hot pursuit. Kay and Steve part ways, and Kay goes to Don for help. Don hides Kay in a remote Dark Mountain cabin, and the plan is that she will wait there until things cool off.

There’s a general lack of tension in Dark Mountain. The film, about 57 minutes long, is fast paced, but really corny scenes involving another ranger’s long distance romance and his dog’s antics interrupt the action. The elements of a decent crime film are all here, but somehow the film only raises a yawn. Another problem is in the plot itself. Kay doesn’t know about her husband’s activities, but all is revealed in one clumsy scene with henchman Whitey (Elisha Cook Jr.).

“An idea couldn’t get past the border right now.”

The exciting crime drama Plunder Road contains a tight tense plot that centres on a robbery and the subsequent escape. The well-executed film, directed by Hubert Cornfield, is pure tense, white knuckled action with very little down time. The drama shows that nerves of steel play a large role in this audacious robbery, mistakes come with a terrible price, and violent crime brings its own inevitable violent consequences. In a bold robbery that nets 10,000,000 in gold bullion, the motley gang of five robbers split up into three teams–each with 1/3 of the loot. With three trucks loaded with 3.3 million, the men head to California with a time lapse of 30 minutes between vehicles. The film follows the route of each vehicle and depicts developments via radio reports listened to by the criminals as they try to make their escape to California.

As the criminals move across the country with the loot, they’re confined to the claustrophic atmosphere of the cabs of their vehicles, and here they confide their hopes and dreams to one another. Skeets Jonas (Elisha Cook Jr.), for example, a perennial jailbird, uses the time to daydream about a life of luxury in Rio. The mastermind behind the crime, a man who’s never committed a robbery before, is cool-headed Eddie Harris (Gene Raymond), and although the film doesn’t explore what finally made him turn to a life of crime, the implication is that he’s tired of the grueling grind of work, and wants to strike it rich, finishing his days in South America. Other members of the gang include a nervous ex-race car driver and a former stunt man.

As they make the journey to California, the criminals trip across individuals who seem like outcasts marooned along the lonely freeways to California. They too have hopes and dreams that are now largely squashed and buried by the daily toil, but when the subject of the robbery comes up in conversation, these observers all express the hope that the robbers “get away with it.” To them it’s the little person against the system. If you enjoy classic crime caper films, Plunder Road is well worth catching.