Walk a Crooked Mile
| Walk a Crooked Mile | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release lobby card |
|
| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Produced by | Edward Small Grant Whytock |
| Screenplay by | George Bruce |
| Story by | Bertram Millhauser |
| Narrated by | Reed Hadley |
| Starring | Louis Hayward Dennis O'Keefe Louise Allbritton |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Edward Colman George Robinson |
| Editing by | James E. Newcom |
| Studio | Edward Small Productions Columbia Pictures |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 2, 1948 (United States) |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) is an American film noir directed by Gordon Douglas. The drama features Louis Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe and Louise Allbritton.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A spy ring has infiltrated Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics, a Southern California atomic research center. FBI agent Dan O'Hara and Scotland Yard detective Philip Grayson are on the case.
[edit] Cast
- Louis Hayward as Philip 'Scotty' Grayson
- Dennis O'Keefe as Daniel F. O'Hara
- Louise Allbritton as Dr. Toni Neva
- Carl Esmond as Dr. Ritter von Stolb
- Onslow Stevens as Igor Braun
- Raymond Burr as Krebs
- Art Baker as Dr. Frederick Townsend
- Lowell Gilmore as Dr. William Forrest
- Philip Van Zandt as Anton Radchek
- Charles Evans as Dr. Homer Allen
- Frank Ferguson as Carl Bemish
- Reed Hadley as Narrator
[edit] Reception
When the film was released, The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, while giving the film mixed review, wrote well of the screenplay, "No use to speak of the action or the acting. It's strictly routine. But the plot is deliberately sensational."[2]
The staff at Variety magazine gave the film a favorable review, writing, "Action swings to San Francisco and back to the southland, punching hard all the time under the knowledgeable direction of Gordon Douglas. On-the-site filming of locales adds authenticity. George Bruce has loaded his script with nifty twists that add air of reality to the meller doings in the Bertram Millhauser story. Dialog is good and situations believably developed, even the highly contrived melodramatic finale. Documentary flavor is forwarded by Reed Hadley's credible narration chore."[3]
More recently, critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, but echoing the 1948 New York Times film review, lauded the screenplay, writing, "Writer George Bruce adds a lot of plot twists from a story by Bertram Millhauser. It's a tolerable and unpretentious routine thriller that not only cautions against evil Russian Commie agents but possible American traitors in the scientific community. It was made at a time when the House Un-American Activities Committee was investigating the government and Hollywood for communist infiltrators and Hollywood was sensitive to showing off to the right-wing politicians and the concerned American public that it was patriotic...Though the acting was vanilla, the melodramatics contrived and the story predictable, there was suspense finding out who was the leaker and the situation was kept plausible. It's not a particularly good film, but it was entertaining. Raymond Burr as one of the more ruthless gung-ho Commie spies makes for a wonderful villain, giving the film some bounce as he tries to kill his lawmen adversaries."[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Walk a Crooked Mile at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Crowther, Bosly. The New York Times, film review, October 13, 1948. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
- ^ Variety, film review. September 2, 1949. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
- ^ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, July 26, 2008. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
