This week's Hidden Gem (#31 as we count down to #1) is a taut little film noir directed by Don 'Dirty Harry' Siegel. When it was listed (in 2013), this film was not available on home video as it is today. If you've seen this one, please share your thoughts. If not, please let us know if this sounds like a film you'd like to see:
I watched this film on a noir binge several years back. I remember liking it, but it kind of runs together with some others I saw from the same time.
I love the soundtrack by Leith Stevens. It was originally a mono Coral 10" LP. It was later reissued as part of "Jazz Themes for Cops and Robbers," but for that album, they overdubbed vibes and additional percussion to create a stereo image. I like it better with the overdubs!
I saw this in the last 12 months when I was watching films scored by Leith Stevens. It doesn't stick out in my memory, except Steve Cochran seemed so "corrupt" from the start that you'd think he'd have been caught earlier.
I only vaguely recall it, as if it wasn't as good as I expected. Or perhaps I just didn't understand the storyline. I hate when you have to follow a plot - I have a kind of "plot dyslexia". Come to think of it, maybe I only wanted to hear the Leith Stevens score in context, and thus blotted out dialogue and stuff. Shoulda got the album.
