"A Bullet for Joey" is pretty interesting as far as film noir goes, although it doesn't fit that neatly into the genre, being more of a straight crime drama with overtones of intrigue. Two iconic tough guys headline the drama, Edward G. Robinson as Police Inspector Leduc and George Raft as mobster Joe Victor. It takes place largely in Montreal, Canada, which only adds to the appeal of this movie for this viewer. Joe was run out of America and is now living in exile in Lisbon when dangerous men approach him with a job: kidnap a prominent nuclear physicist, Carl Macklin (George Dolenz). Joe's just happy to be working again, content not to ask too many questions, and rounds up his old gang, including Joyce Geary (the striking Audrey Totter). Trouble brews when, for one thing, Joyce, who's found some scruples, finds her task of diverting Macklin's attention compromised by the fact that she genuinely likes the guy. "A Bullet for Joey" is one of those movies that may not be destined to become a classic, but is still perfectly acceptable of its kind, telling a good, straightforward story (concocted by James Benson Nablo, and scripted by Daniel Mainwaring and A.I. Bezzerides) with efficient direction by Lewis Allen (who also directed Edward G. in "Illegal" from the same year). Fans of Edward G. should know beforehand that there are chunks of the story without him, and if one is enticed by the prospect of seeing him and Raft face off, this doesn't happen until right near the end, when Edward G. appeals to Raft's sense of not only patriotism but decency in the hopes that the mobster will see the light. They're both great, as is Totter as the tough looking but ultimately soft hearted dame who really doesn't want to see any harm come to her new man. Dolenz, Peter van Eyck as the nefarious "book dealer" Eric Hartman, William Bryant, Steven Geray, and Joseph Vitale are all good in support, with Toni Gerry extremely appealing in the role of the lovestruck secretary romanced by Bryant's scummy character as part of the plot. "A Bullet for Joey" moves along well enough and with its final theme of redemption, is 88 minutes worth of good if not great entertainment. Seven out of 10.
Review of A Bullet for Joey
