Double Cross (1941)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Thoroughly routine PRC programmer, filmed in dreary pedestrian style. At least some atmospherics would have compensated for a patchwork script, erratic acting, and sloppy staging— for example, note the incredible "ducking bullets is for sissies" highway shoot-out, or the rope on Jim's hands that miraculously re-ties itself. But then this is PRC and they're probably on a three-day shooting schedule. Still, I suspect that with better material and more engaged direction, the cast would have delivered more respectable results.No need to recap the plot, except that double-crosses abound. On the other hand, Richmond makes a handsome square-jawed hero, while Moore's lovely good girl Ellen resembles an unglamorized Hedy LaMarr. But above all there's Frank Moran as Cookie, with probably the friendliest ugly mug in Hollywood. They should have thrown more scenes his way since he's the movie's one notable feature. The two-shots with him and Ellen are like Beauty and the Beast and probably gave the director a few chuckles. Anyway, I can't say I didn't ask for disappointment by tuning in to what I knew was a PRC cheapo. Still, they did sometimes hit pay-dirt, as with the noir classic, Detour (1945). No such luck here. I suggest you skip this one, unless it's to catch the sublime Moran.

Violent, tough, and fast moving, this early film noir like crime drama snaps, crackles and pops even though the plot is filled with more holes than a swiss cheese after a mouse has discovered it. Supposedly crooked cops involved in the illegal goings on behind the scenes of a popular nightclub have their careers destroyed thanks to their involvement with the tough-talking Wynne Gibson. The fact that she's obviously the moll of "big boss" John Miljan isn't enough of a stop sign to keep them from treading into tight-nit quarters with her. On one raid, Gibson panics, pulls out the gun from the holster of current cop lover Richard Beach and shoots another cop dead so Miljan won't be shot at. Beach grabs it from her and the other cops instinctively shoot him even though he's in full uniform. His death discredits him as a traitor, and his best pal (Kane Richmond) plots a similar betrayal from the police force to clear it. Ironically, he's the son of Irish brogued chief Robert Homans (who is married to the very Scottish Mary Gordon), and his betrayal humiliates dad. Richmond's fiancée (Pauline Moore) is both the late Beach's sister and a photographer at Miljan's joint and this leads to speculation of mixed loyalties and too many hot connections between two organizations that despise each other. For such an outlandish plot line, which just seems too far-fetched to ever really happen, to end up so enjoyable, praise must be given to the cast, director and even certain elements of the screenplay. Gibson, a tough veteran of bad girls (sometimes misunderstood, other times entirely too obvious), always delivered the goods, sort of a Mae West without the drag queen impersonation. In "Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men", she turned the life of a sap around; Here, she makes a sap out of one, and is fooled by another into thinking she can do the same thing again. Her confrontation scene with Miljan is one of the great film noir monologues, and her character holds no anger back. Even if the rest of the cast just simply walked through the film, she'd make this worth the price of admission. The romantic pairing of Richmond and Moore is also notable here, as she is the only one really in on what his intentions are. The scene where pop Homans dismisses and humiliates Richmond is followed by an even more emotional one between Homans, Richmond, Moore and Gordon whose cries of anguish over losing her still living son is heartbreaking. So while this films has many flaws, there are so many things in it which have the potential of raising it up a notch, but after reflecting on it, the elements that pull the structure of the story together lower it down to a missed opportunity that have a grave impact on it as a whole.

Kane Richmond is a cop who tries to get revenge on the gang that shot his friend and who have designs on taking out his father, a big wig on the force. Unremarkable programmer has just enough odd bits to keep things interesting. From the slacking off cop hanging around the illegal gambling club, to the cops machine gunning the bad guys to death there are just enough things to make this worth trying on a slow night. To be honest the film is actually a rather clichéd almost silly tale but every now and again its throws a curve ball to make you sit up and take notice. Odds are you'll only want to see this once so a rental would be in order, but I think you'll be amused for that one go through.

This is one of those crime dramas where not much happens and the main character does things he should not be able to. It involves a self imposed undercover situation where a cop acts like he is going bad to get into a crime group. It is basically dull and silly. It has little if any suspense. The characters aren't all that attractive and the cause is a bit hard to swallow. There is a supposed thread of integrity at stake, but mostly it goes about going right where we think it will go. It's as if they needed to get the movie out without putting much time in on it. The actors sleepwalk and talk in little bursts. The B movie didn't demand much. I can see those kids on Saturday morning enjoying the car chases and the gunshots being fired. They really weren't much interested in a story.