Great movies can be made cheaply if they have good stories, casts and everything jells. This movie is an example. I would disagree with a previous comment that Robert Aldrich was an unknown Director. This was his first movie as a Director, but he was was on the fast track to becoming one of the best.
Ralph Meeker who plays the lead, was never in the first tier of leading men, but personally one of my favorite "wise guys" who could compete with Bogart's Sam Spade.
Meeker was physically more intimidating than Bogar tor any of the other tough guys of the film noire era with the exception of Robert Mitchum. Meeker was not one dimensional. In Paths of Glory, Kirk Douglas defends an innocent enlisted man picked to die as an "example" to maintain discipline. It was Meeker's role in this great film that convinced me that he deserved greater critical acclaim.
Meeker is a perfect Micky Spillane. He's tough, irreverent, and a convincingly shady character out for number one, who uses his girlfriend/secretary in his private eye business like a pimp uses a prostitute. Alas movie fans, the heart of the private eye business is the divorce industry. Tawdry, boring and predictable, its a wonder so many films have glamourized the business. The exceptional facet of this film is the use of nuclear device as the object of everyone's affection. I believe its a first. Today's viewers may be a little jaded on that subject, but when this movie was first shown, it was a novelty. Today's viewer will have to excuse Spillanes's ignorance. Money, drugs jewels and possibly blackmail material could be hidden in a box, but after the Atom Bomb, detectives had to add nuclear material to their inventory. Ralph Dekker who plays Spillane's ultimate enemy plays a small part unless you count his blue suede shoes. ( I wonder if that was the incentive for Elvis's first hits?) Dekker was in a lot of films, usually as a bad guy with a lot of first line actors like John Wayne and Burt Lancaster. Gloris Leachman plays the opening of the movie and her career. Their are several other notable character actors with familiar faces but forgetful names who add color to this colorful movie in black and white shot in 6 weeks.
If you enjoy action-adventure without political messages, watch this movie. If you want to see what men in the 50's wanted to drive, watch this movie. And just to show us that Spillane has a heart, you can watch him save his girl after being shot by a .38. What a tough guy!
Ralph Meeker who plays the lead, was never in the first tier of leading men, but personally one of my favorite "wise guys" who could compete with Bogart's Sam Spade.
Meeker was physically more intimidating than Bogar tor any of the other tough guys of the film noire era with the exception of Robert Mitchum. Meeker was not one dimensional. In Paths of Glory, Kirk Douglas defends an innocent enlisted man picked to die as an "example" to maintain discipline. It was Meeker's role in this great film that convinced me that he deserved greater critical acclaim.
Meeker is a perfect Micky Spillane. He's tough, irreverent, and a convincingly shady character out for number one, who uses his girlfriend/secretary in his private eye business like a pimp uses a prostitute. Alas movie fans, the heart of the private eye business is the divorce industry. Tawdry, boring and predictable, its a wonder so many films have glamourized the business. The exceptional facet of this film is the use of nuclear device as the object of everyone's affection. I believe its a first. Today's viewers may be a little jaded on that subject, but when this movie was first shown, it was a novelty. Today's viewer will have to excuse Spillanes's ignorance. Money, drugs jewels and possibly blackmail material could be hidden in a box, but after the Atom Bomb, detectives had to add nuclear material to their inventory. Ralph Dekker who plays Spillane's ultimate enemy plays a small part unless you count his blue suede shoes. ( I wonder if that was the incentive for Elvis's first hits?) Dekker was in a lot of films, usually as a bad guy with a lot of first line actors like John Wayne and Burt Lancaster. Gloris Leachman plays the opening of the movie and her career. Their are several other notable character actors with familiar faces but forgetful names who add color to this colorful movie in black and white shot in 6 weeks.
If you enjoy action-adventure without political messages, watch this movie. If you want to see what men in the 50's wanted to drive, watch this movie. And just to show us that Spillane has a heart, you can watch him save his girl after being shot by a .38. What a tough guy!