| The Crooked Way | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Florey |
| Produced by | Benedict Bogeaus |
| Written by | Screenplay: Richard H. Landau Story: Robert Monroe |
| Starring | John Payne Sonny Tufts Ellen Drew |
| Music by | Louis Forbes |
| Cinematography | John Alton |
| Editing by | Frank Sullivan |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | April 22, 1949 (U.S.A.) |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Crooked Way (1949) is a black-and-white film noir directed by Robert Florey. The film was based on a radio play No Blade Too Sharp and features John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, and others. The film, with a similar plot (a war hero loses his memory stateside) to another film noir Somewhere in the Night, was shot by noted cameraman John Alton.[1]
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After sustaining a head wound in combat, decorated World War II veteran Eddie Rice (John Payne) is treated at a San Francisco military hospital for a permanent form of amnesia. This leaves him with no knowledge of his life, family and friends prior to his enlistment, a void that the army intelligence unit was unable to fill as they couldn't find any information about him, other than the fact he enlisted in Los Angeles. Doctors tell him that no medical cure exists for his case, but that if he returns to Los Angeles he might run into people who know him and could help him fill in the blanks. Rice follows this advice and he promptly runs into people who recognize him. However, he is recognized not as Eddie Rice, but as Eddie Riccardi, a dangerous gangster gone missing, whose past behavior generates mistrust among the police and all those who knew him in the past. Furthermore, ruthless crime boss Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts), who was betrayed by Eddie before he left the town, is now out for revenge.
Film critic Dennis Schwartz discussed the noir aspects of the film, and wrote, "A minor film noir, originally made for radio. Its motif, about how someone can attempt to change his dismal past after getting amnesia, is a purely noir theme...Nina and Eddie desperately want to fit into postwar American society despite their prior misdeeds. The camerawork of probably the best film noir cinematographer ever, John Alton, captures the dark streetlife of LA. What leaves a lasting impression is the warehouse shoot-out, as we see these antisocial types trapped like rats. The darkness of Vince's past and current life is contrasted with the John Payne character who has a second chance to redeem himself, something noir characters think is impossible to ever get. That is the happy ending, but its optimism is muted. There's always the possibility he will revert back to his old self. It all seems credible, even though we know that this story is a highly improbable one. Throughout the film, John Payne has the look of someone who has just come out of a laundry washing machine and by the film's end is being hung out to dry."[2]