Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Michael O'Keefe Years have past since Detective Sam Wagner(Joseph Cotton)brought bank robber Leon 'Foggy' Poole(Wendell Corey)to justice and in the crossfire accidentally killed the crook's wife. When the once mild mannered convict escapes jail, he is crazed with just one thing on his mind and it is to get revenge by killing Wagner's wife Lila(Rhonda Fleming). The cops want 'Foggy' back behind bars and the idea comes up to use the beautiful Lila as bait. Wagner is not happy with the situation and is stressed with protecting his wife.Corey is at his best in this role. Fleming proves her acting abilities in this Film-Noir. The usual stoic Cotton actually has emotions. The supporting cast includes: Alan Hale Jr., John Larch, John Beradino, Dee J. Thompson, Michael Pate and Don Beddoe.

evanston_dad This noir features Wendell Corey as a very creepy psycho in a plot that brings instantly to mind a much more famous movie, "Cape Fear." Corey is sent to prison for aiding a bank robbery. He escapes and comes after the detective that put him there in the first place, played reliably by Joseph Cotten. But Corey's way of realizing his vengeance on Cotten is by threatening Cotten's wife, played by Rhonda Fleming.Corey plays the killer very quietly and emotionlessly, which makes him much scarier than if he had resorted to histrionics, and it makes the killings in the film, which are actually fairly shocking, much more effective because of their cold bloodedness. The film is dripping in a sweaty, tense atmosphere, and it's got a nail-biter of an ending. Women aren't going to be much pleased by the portrayal of the female characters and the way the film either disposes of them or has them do foolish things that service the movie's plot, but this was the 1950s, so we can't expect too much.Grade: A-

dallesmac As a huge fan of Budd Boetticher's Randolph Scott westerns, I really looked forward to this 1956 thriller. Though it certainly held my attention, the movie was a disappointment. The tension it managed to create early on as Wendell Corey escapes from a prison trustee farm really went slack--done in by a lousy script. Boetticher keeps things moving, helped immensely by Lucien Ballard's terrific black-and-white camera work. But I don't get the feeling the director was very interested, aside from the scenes focusing on Corey. Other reviewers have rightly praised the scary, yet oddly sympathetic, character that Corey creates here. It's just too bad the script was so perfunctory. Rhonda Fleming seems right as police detective Joseph Cotten's wife, Lila, but her role is so poorly conceived (and she becomes so annoying), that I lost all interest and sympathy for her. The other big negative is Joseph Cotten, at 50+, too old for the police detective. Even worse, you can't watch him without seeing Joseph Cotten; he doesn't create a character and his movements seem all wrong as a cop. Great 1950's LA locales, though. And worth catching for Corey's performance.

Neil Doyle Budd Boetticher was getting his "Director's Day" salute on TCM when I watched this little known thriller starring Joseph COTTEN, RHONDA FLEMING and WENDELL COREY.It's Corey who walks off with the film in what is really the central role as a crazed killer, angry when detective Cotten and his police officers accidentally kill his wife when trying to get him. He vows revenge when he's found guilty of a bank robbery where he was an accomplice, and the rest of the tale involves vengeance and a final comeuppance for Corey.Joseph COTTEN gives only a middling performance, almost phoning in his job as though he knows his colorless role isn't worth much effort. The same for RHONDA FLEMING as his selfish wife, whose sole contribution is a shapely figure and a pretty face obviously ready for many a close-up.What raises this above the level of an average B-film is Corey's nuanced performance as a nerdy man who appears almost sympathetic at times and chillingly ruthless when crossed. JOHN LARCH is especially good as an ex service buddy who used to taunt him for his lack of skill with a rifle. It's Corey's work in the film that puts it into a higher category and makes it a psychological crime melodrama worth watching.Budd Boetticher's no-nonsense approach delivers a solid bit of film-making that lasts a mere one hour and thirteen minutes.Note: The lower case for the name Joseph is either the fault of my keyboard or IMDb--I've been capitalizing it but it comes out each time as lower case for some unknown reason.