HELLBOUND – 1957
This is a surprisingly good low budget programmer from the end of classic film noir cycle.
John Russell headlines as a villain with a plan to lift a large dollar amount of drugs off a ship docking in Los Angeles. He has come up with a rather elaborate plan to get hold of the drugs and get them off the ship with no one the wiser. All he needs is some up-front money to run the play.
Russell takes his plan to mobbed up Frank Fenton. Fenton agrees to finance the play but insists that Russell use one of his people. He sends drop dead pretty, June Blair along to help out. Blair is no damsel in distress type.
Russell's plan involves a ship-board contact, a fake sailor in need of rescue and a port authority health officer as well as a nurse.
With Blair now in the picture, Russell has to pull his new girlfriend, Margo Woode, from the set-up. Woode works as a nurse on the ambulance Russell needs for the score. Woode arranges for Blair to take her place. Russell has bribed a crewman for the plans to the ship and where the drugs are kept. It is the perfect plan, Russell tells money man, Fenton.
Russell has also bribed a port authority health officer, Stanley Adams into joining. Adams is always dreaming of taking a world cruise and intends to use his end for just that. George Mather plays the other member of the group. His job is to get on board the ship just outside the harbour. He will be adrift in a life raft. He will tell the crew of the ship his fishing boat sank. His job is to break into where the drugs are kept. He is then to pass them to Stanley Adams who is to take them off the ship.
Needless to say it does not take long for the flies in the ointment to start to appear. Hardboiled dame Blair softens when she falls for the ambulance doc, Stuart Whitman. She decides to run off with the man. Russell beats the woman and leaves her for dead. He then puts Miss Woode back into play.
Mather turns out to have a rather severe heroin addiction and starts to go into withdrawal just after getting on board the ship. Everything comes unglued and the plan falls completely apart. The ship docks, the ambulance to whisk Adams and the drugs away arrives. What happens instead, is Mather is brought off the ship kicking and screaming from a terrible case of the DT's. Adams has failed in his bit as well, he is dead from a bad ticker.
The Police now arrive and put the grip on Miss Woode. It seems that Blair had survived the beating from Russell and spilled the whole plan to the Police.
Russell, watching from the dock, takes off with the Police in hot pursuit. Russell leads the boys in blue on a merry chase through a metal scrapyard. He ducks in and out of rows of old trolley cars trying to throw off the pursuing Police. He seems to have done just that, when he gets his comeuppance in a most gruesome style.
There are shades of several other perfect plans coming unraveled noir in this one. One cannot help but see bits of THE KILLING, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE BIG CAPER etc throughout. Having said that, this one more than holds its own, in comparison to the better known film noir productions.
The acting is quite good, with Russell in particular shining. He does what he needs to in order to get his plan into play. He is vicious, friendly or helpful depending on what is needed to make the set-up work. There is no doubt though that the man is a killer at heart. Ex Playboy centerfold, June Blair shows some real acting chops here in her first credited role.
B film director William J. Hole Jr. does some nice work here. It does not hurt that he has film noir regular, Carl Guthrie handling the cinematography duties. Guthrie worked on noir as, DEATH IN SMALL DOSES, FLAXY MARTIN, BACKFIRE, UNDERCOVER GIRL, THIS SIDE OF THE LAW, Hollywood STORY, IRON MAN, STORM WARNING, THE TATTERED DRESS, CAGED and HIGHWAY 301.
The story and screenplay was by another noir veteran, Richard Landau. Landau's work includes story or screenplays for, ROADBLOCK, STOLEN FACE, THE MAN IS ARMED, FBI GIRL, MURDER BY PROXY, HOT CARS, THE GLASS CAGE and THE CROOKED WAY.
For a low budget production, the film is quite entertaining and well worth a watch.
This is a surprisingly good low budget programmer from the end of classic film noir cycle.
John Russell headlines as a villain with a plan to lift a large dollar amount of drugs off a ship docking in Los Angeles. He has come up with a rather elaborate plan to get hold of the drugs and get them off the ship with no one the wiser. All he needs is some up-front money to run the play.
Russell takes his plan to mobbed up Frank Fenton. Fenton agrees to finance the play but insists that Russell use one of his people. He sends drop dead pretty, June Blair along to help out. Blair is no damsel in distress type.
Russell's plan involves a ship-board contact, a fake sailor in need of rescue and a port authority health officer as well as a nurse.
With Blair now in the picture, Russell has to pull his new girlfriend, Margo Woode, from the set-up. Woode works as a nurse on the ambulance Russell needs for the score. Woode arranges for Blair to take her place. Russell has bribed a crewman for the plans to the ship and where the drugs are kept. It is the perfect plan, Russell tells money man, Fenton.
Russell has also bribed a port authority health officer, Stanley Adams into joining. Adams is always dreaming of taking a world cruise and intends to use his end for just that. George Mather plays the other member of the group. His job is to get on board the ship just outside the harbour. He will be adrift in a life raft. He will tell the crew of the ship his fishing boat sank. His job is to break into where the drugs are kept. He is then to pass them to Stanley Adams who is to take them off the ship.
Needless to say it does not take long for the flies in the ointment to start to appear. Hardboiled dame Blair softens when she falls for the ambulance doc, Stuart Whitman. She decides to run off with the man. Russell beats the woman and leaves her for dead. He then puts Miss Woode back into play.
Mather turns out to have a rather severe heroin addiction and starts to go into withdrawal just after getting on board the ship. Everything comes unglued and the plan falls completely apart. The ship docks, the ambulance to whisk Adams and the drugs away arrives. What happens instead, is Mather is brought off the ship kicking and screaming from a terrible case of the DT's. Adams has failed in his bit as well, he is dead from a bad ticker.
The Police now arrive and put the grip on Miss Woode. It seems that Blair had survived the beating from Russell and spilled the whole plan to the Police.
Russell, watching from the dock, takes off with the Police in hot pursuit. Russell leads the boys in blue on a merry chase through a metal scrapyard. He ducks in and out of rows of old trolley cars trying to throw off the pursuing Police. He seems to have done just that, when he gets his comeuppance in a most gruesome style.
There are shades of several other perfect plans coming unraveled noir in this one. One cannot help but see bits of THE KILLING, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE BIG CAPER etc throughout. Having said that, this one more than holds its own, in comparison to the better known film noir productions.
The acting is quite good, with Russell in particular shining. He does what he needs to in order to get his plan into play. He is vicious, friendly or helpful depending on what is needed to make the set-up work. There is no doubt though that the man is a killer at heart. Ex Playboy centerfold, June Blair shows some real acting chops here in her first credited role.
B film director William J. Hole Jr. does some nice work here. It does not hurt that he has film noir regular, Carl Guthrie handling the cinematography duties. Guthrie worked on noir as, DEATH IN SMALL DOSES, FLAXY MARTIN, BACKFIRE, UNDERCOVER GIRL, THIS SIDE OF THE LAW, Hollywood STORY, IRON MAN, STORM WARNING, THE TATTERED DRESS, CAGED and HIGHWAY 301.
The story and screenplay was by another noir veteran, Richard Landau. Landau's work includes story or screenplays for, ROADBLOCK, STOLEN FACE, THE MAN IS ARMED, FBI GIRL, MURDER BY PROXY, HOT CARS, THE GLASS CAGE and THE CROOKED WAY.
For a low budget production, the film is quite entertaining and well worth a watch.