Raw Deal (1948)

So much average

Powerful

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Dennis O'Keefe is perfect in this very dark drama of a hopeless escape of a convict into a sea of trouble in which he can only get drowned, in spite of being assisted by two women at the same time. They appear from the very beginning and immediately embark on a quiet cold war between themselves to get him in the end, and the question is who is the real winner. As a relationship drama it is of immense human interest, and the ladies' manoeuvres are sustained in their fascinating innovations throughout to the bitter end. To this comes the outstanding eerie music by Paul Sawtell, the splendid direction by Anthony Mann leaving no second without suspense and the additional acting by the scoundrels John Ireland and Raymond Burr. The latter made quite a number of awesome monster bandits before he became Perry Mason. Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt are both excellent enough, and you understand too well Dennis' constantly shifting feelings for them both. Anthony Mann in his younger years made a string of extremely efficient dark movies, and this is one of the darkest and most efficient.

Raymond Burr is most famous as the invincible Perry Mason, but in Rear Window we saw him as the villain. In this movie, he has a much bigger villain part, as Rick, and makes much more impression as such. His towering presence is well used, and we hear him presenting his evil plan in a very elegant manner, packaging his plan in the most perfect "nice" expressions.Burr makes my favorite quote from the movie, landed with perfect timing:"He was screaming he wanted out. When a man screams, I don't like it. Especially a friend. He might scream loud enough for the D.A. to hear. I don't want to hurt the D.A's ears.... He's sensitive."On top of this, we have the overall gray and "noir" mood of the picture, about a man with very bad odds (Joe Sullivan/O'Keefe), and two women, one of them his loyal accomplice Pat (Claire Trevor), who is also narrator of the story, and Ann (Marsha Hunt) who is forced to join them. Joe's feelings for the two is the constant worry of Pat, hopelessly in love with Joe. All three do their parts well.A weakness of the movie, showing its age, is that the action scenes are pretty primitive. We have to live with that for movies this old.

Joseph Emmett "Joe" Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) is in the State Prison for taken the blame for the gangster Rick Coyle (Raymond Burr) that owes him US$ 50,000.00. Joe is visited by the young Ann Martin (Marsha Hunt) that works at the law firm that is defending him and she tells that after three years, Joe will certainly be on probation. However his lover Pat Cameron (Claire Trevor) also visits him and tells that Rick has plotted an escape for him during the night. What they do not know is that the sadistic Rick wants to get rid off Joe and expects that Joe will be murdered or caught during the prison break. Joe is well-succeeded in the escape and Pat drives the runaway car. However the car is shot in the tank by the police officers and they run out fuel. Joe brings Pat to Ann's house expecting to have a hideout for a couple of days, but Ann calls the police believing that she would help Joe. They escape in Ann's car and head to Crescent City, where Joe expects to meet Rick to receive his money and travel to South America with Pat. But Rick sends a hit-man to kill Joe while Pat feels that she is losing Joe to Ann that has fallen in love with him. Will Pat and Joe have the chance to travel together to South America? "Raw Deal" is a film-noir with a triangle of love between an ambiguous criminal that wants to be a good man, his experienced lover and a naive young woman that also falls in love for him. Raymond Burr performs a scary gangster. The plot is full of action and has an unusual narration in off by Pat Cameron. The cinematography in black and white is very beautiful and the conclusion is dark. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Entre Dois Fogos" ("Between Two Fires")

It's got Genre Icons...Director Anthony Mann...Cinematographer John Alton...Actors Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr, and John Ireland. This is Quintessential Noir and is Held Up as an Example of the Genre. The Most Impressive Things are the Dark Mood Emphasized by the Low-Lighting, and Webbing with Fishnets Overlaying the Image Everywhere Exuding a Caught or Claustrophobic Environment.The Familiar Narration of Noir is Turned on it Head with the Dooming Female Voice of Pat (Trevor) that is Nightmarish, Surreal, and Fatalistic. The Violence is Visceral, Sharp, and Brutal at Times. The Villain Rick (Burr) is Sadistic, Selfish, Flashy, and a Pyromaniac.The Story is a Downbeat Display of Duality where Joe (O'keefe), Pat, and Ann (Marsha Hunt), All have a Conflicting Conscience and a Constant Struggle to Redeem the Opposing Oppression of Psychological Maladies.Once Pat's Narration Begins at the Start of the Film with its Ethereal and Creepy Music and She Visits Joe in a Prison, a Scene Filled with Odd Angles, Barred and Sprawled with Geometrical Intrusions, the Film Presents Itself as Something Unordinary and Compelling.It Also Includes Typical, Cynical, and Off-Beat Dialog…"Keep your eye on her, she might go soprano."…"I'll be through with this in three-quarters-of a-half-an hour.".A Must See for Fans of Film-Noir, B-Movies, Anthony Mann, John Alton, Crime Movies, and Expressionistic Surreal Cinema.