Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

MartinHafer People only familiar with Raymond Burr from his "Perry Mason" shows might be very surprised to see him in his many films before hitting it big as Mason. That's because instead of the nice-guy defender of the helpless, his earlier roles very, very often including preying upon the helpless and being a very, very menacing thug. Again and again, Burr would kill, beat or rob--and in a manner so cold and brutal that you have to admire the guy! Heck, to fans of film noir, Burr is like a god--up there with great noir actors like Edmund O'Brien, John Ireland and Paul Stewart--reliable and tough. Here in "Desperate", one again Burr plays a sociopathic thug--and I enjoyed every minute he was on the screen.Mr. & Mrs. Steve Randall (Steve Brody and Audry Long) have only been married a short time and are struggling to make ends meet. So, when Steve is offered a lot of money to do a late night trucking job, he jumps for it--only to find it's actually a job working with some thugs. He inadvertently gets mixed up in the middle of a robbery and shooting--and the crooks slug him and force him to drive the getaway vehicle. Randall tries to warn the cops--and the gang decides to make him pay. They beat him demand that HE turn himself in and take credit for the crime--or they'll make sure his wife "ain't so pretty any more"! Instead of going to the police (which any sane person would have done), Randall manages to escape from his captors. He then arranges for his wife to meet him at the station and they set off on a cross-country trek to get her to safety. By this time, the police are looking for him--and still Randall does NOT stop and ask for their help or explain himself. In fact, this is a major shortcoming of the movie--we are to expect the leading man to behave in a way 98% of us would not in the same situation. Then, when he DOES decide to go to the police, he says he needs to drive 200 miles there! Why not pick ANY police station between here and there--why drive all the way back home? Regardless, when he turns himself in, they don't believe him--probably because he'd been running for so long! But they decide to release him--assuming he'd be bait to attract the rest of the gang. Eventually, Burr and the rest of the gang catch up to where the Randalls have been hiding. See the movie to find out what happens next.Despite its plot problems which I pointed out already (as well as a baby that seems to arrive awfully fast!), it IS a good example of film noir. While it lacks some of the great cinematography some of the best noir has (except in the excellent staircase scene), the dialog is snappy, the plot pretty good and the villains truly villainous. A very good and enjoyable example of the genre.

Petri Pelkonen Steve Randall has just got married.He works as an independent trucker.He's hired by an old friend to haul some freight.At the warehouse he realizes he has been hired to haul away some stolen goods.Things get out of hands and a police officer gets shot.Steve gets kidnapped, and Walt Radak, the leader, threats to mutilate his wife if he doesn't confess the murder done by Radak's brother during the theft.But he manages to escape, and he takes his wife with him.Desperate (1947) is a film noir directed by Anthony Mann.There was a man who could handle the film noir, the westerns and whatnot.The cast is great.Steve Brodie and Audrey Long make a great couple as Steve and Anne Randall.Raymond Burr makes a great villain as Walt Radak.Douglas Fowley is very good as Pete Lavitch, Private Eye.William Challee is great as Reynolds.Jason Robards is terrific as Det. Lt. Louie Ferrari.Paul E. Burns is fantastic as Uncle Jan.And so is Ilka Grüning as Aunt Klara.Dick Elliott is superb as Sheriff Hat Lewis.The movie offers many thrills.One great moment is when Steve has taken a car and it stops running, so they get a lift from a man.This man happens to be the sheriff.And when the crooks arrive at Aunt Klara's place.Anthony Mann certainly knew what he was doing, and he did it right.

Michael_Elliott Desperate (1947) *** (out of 4) Exciting noir has truck driver Steve (Steve Brodie) framed for a heist job that resulted in a cop being killed. Steve takes his pregnant wife (Audrey Long) and hits the road to try and get her to safety from the gangster (Raymond Burr) who wants them dead. This film starts off so light-hearted that it pretty much takes you by surprise when things start to heat up because it happens so quick that you barely have time to even get to know the characters. The film plays out a lot like a Hitchcock film would as we've got an innocent man set-up by the crooked one and then the innocent man goes on the run and just keeps finding himself in more and more trouble. The film has our hero going through so much that you can't help but feel sorry for him and at a point you have to wonder if in the real world anyone would have this much bad luck. Mann's direction is the real standout here as he does a terrific job at building up the suspense as Steve gets further and further in trouble. One of the best scenes in the film is when he buys a used car only to get ripped off and has to turn to stealing it. The car eventually breaks down but he gets a ride with a kind old man who just happens to be the sheriff. Not only does this sequence build up some nice suspense but it also has a bit of humor as even our characters start to wonder why all of this is happening. I was surprised to see how good Brodie was here as he has the perfect qualities to carry off the role. He was very believable as the caring husband and we also believed him when he had to play it tough. Brodie is probably best remembered for his various noir roles but horror fans will also remember him from the God-awful FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND. Burr also turns in a fine performance as that terrific voice just makes for the perfect bad guy. Douglas Fowley, William Challee and Freddie Steele add nice support as does Jason Robards as a detective. The only one I didn't care for was Long who was just too annoying for me. The terrific black and white cinematography perfectly builds up a nice atmosphere and Mann's style certainly carries things for the short 73-minute running time. One of the best moments happens early on with a trick shot of a punch being thrown towards the camera. This really kicks things off and the film never lets up.

dbdumonteil ...Anthony Mann made remarkable film noirs."Desperate" is not your average "gangsters movie" .It's valid drama,and Mann's heroes are the boy-next-door and his wife.The gangsters ,most of the time,work behind the stage,and Mann makes us feel all Steve's trials ,fleeing both the Police and a gangster out for revenge (the relationship between the two brothers is only sketched ,and it's the only flaw of an excellent screenplay).Steve is a good guy,a victim,not unlike William Irish's (aka Cornell Woolrich's) characters ,and the audience sides with him all along the way.Remakable scenes: -The arrival at the aunt's farm and the wedding.-Steve's last meal and the insistent ticking of a clock.Like this? try these...."You only live once" Fritz Lang ,1936 "They live by night" Nicholas Ray ,1948 "Tomorrow is another day" Felix Feist ,1952