Mon 15 Jul 2019
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE CROOKED WAY (1949).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[4] Comments
THE CROOKED WAY. United Artists, 1949. John Payne John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams, Percy Helton, John Doucette, Don Haggerty. Director: Robert Florey.
Although in many ways a highly impressive film noir, The Crooked Way doesn’t have much in the way of depth. The story is a familiar one to those steeped in the works of writers such as Cornell Woolrich and David Goodis. World War II has ended. A man (John Payne) wakes up in a U.S. Army hospital in San Francisco with a metal fragment in his skull and no memory of his past life. He thinks he’s named Eddie Rice and from Los Angeles.
It therefore makes sense that he’d go to the City of Angels to piece together who he is so he can begin living again. When he gets to LA, though, he soon learns that his real last name isn’t Rice. It’s Riccardi. Eddie Riccardi. And he led a life of crime and was mixed up with some seriously bad dudes.
He also had – or has – a wife named Nina Martin (Ellen Drew), who is now working with his former associate, the nasty and brutish Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts). Much of the running time is spent on the cat-and-mouse games played by the LAPD and Vince with Eddie (Payne) caught in the middle. And just when things don’t seem as if they could get any worse for him, he finds himself framed for the murder of a LAPD officer.
All standard material in the world of late 1940s crime cinema, topped off with a significant amount of time devoted to the then nascent science of forensics. Payne does more than an admirable job in portraying the film’s doomed protagonist, although he isn’t quite able to capture his character’s inner life. How tormented is Eddie Rice/Riccardi after all he’s been through? To be honest, we don’t really know. Had the producers wanted more of the lead character’s trauma explored, someone like Robert Ryan would have been a more suitable actor for the part.
What The Crooked Way may lack in depth, however, it more than makes up for in flair and style. The movie was lovingly photographed by cinematographer John Alton, who lent his signature touch to numerous films noir in the 1940s and 1950s. From the lighting to the prototypical noirish mood settings, the movie is steeped in the dark and shadowy world of film noir.
I know that sometimes there is a debate about whether a movie can rightly be considered a film noir. Trust me, this one with the neon lights, the nightclubs, the rainy LA street, the shootout in a warehouse, the unique camera angles, is about as visually noir as you can get. Recommended.
July 15th, 2019 at 9:23 pm
I have seen this film, sometime ago, and thought, as you, that it is extremely well presented. It may be on the shallow side, because they did as much as possible with the material, and Payne was just marvelous. It may be a form of sacrilege, but I like him way more than Ryan. And always have.
July 15th, 2019 at 9:48 pm
I also saw this film a long time ago, but I remember it very well. A true noir, that’s for sure, especially in terms of the lighting and general overall camera work. If anyone’s not seen the movie yet, I think the images and the video clip I included will attest to that.
And while Robert Ryan would have been good in the part, I agree with Barry that John Payne does just fine.
July 16th, 2019 at 8:09 pm
I’m a little prejudiced about Payne because my mother dated him for a while when they both were young and he was still a new star. I’ve always thought what he lacked in depth as an actor he made up for in professionalism and screen presence.
This one is not top notch noir, but when you have seen the classics a dozen times it is nice to discover a smaller film like this that works half so well.
Aside from all the other noir touches, the plot of the amnesiac hero discovering a self and a life he no longer recognizes while caught between two forces threatening him is almost the definition of a noir plot.
July 17th, 2019 at 3:34 pm
I’ve just watched this. I agree, it’s only an average film. However, the person that John Payne reminded me most of, was Robert Mitchum. I thought the resemblance was quite noticeable.