Kansas City Confidential.

Review #1381: Kansas City Confidential.

Cast: 
John Payne (Joe Rolfe), Coleen Gray (Helen Foster), Preston Foster (Tim Foster), Neville Brand (Boyd Kane), Lee Van Cleef (Tony Romano), Jack Elam (Pete Harris), Dona Drake (Teresa), and Mario Siletti (Tomaso) Directed by Phil Karlson.

Review: 
"This was so far ahead of itself that I say these pictures have been copied and recopied so many times. Unfortunately Phil Karlson never got the credit for it because I've never been a publicity hound. I come from the school where what we want to be judged by is up on the screen, not by how well I know so-and-so or so-and-so."

One can always find themselves in the mood for a hardboiled noir, whether it has a budget behind it or stars to look forward to. This falls right into the alley for producer Edward Small, who had a lengthy career of 53 years from his first Who's Your Neighbor? (1917) to The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970). Small produced a variety of genres and worked with various studios in his time through his production company, such as Eagle-Lion Films with Raw Deal (1948) and United Artists with films such as Witness for the Prosecution (1957). One particular director that worked with Small was Phil Karlson, with this being one of eight films that the two worked on together. Karlson worked on a variety of small films for a various group of studios from his start at Monogram Pictures to Columbia Pictures that worked for a variety of actors, such as John Payne, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, and Joe Don Baker in a career of 31 years that had standouts such as The Phenix City Story (1955), The Silencers (1966), and Walking Tall (1973). Three further films were made with the Confidential title in New York Confidential (1955), Chicago Confidential (1957), and Hong Kong Confidential (1958), all of which were produced by Small.

One can see the makings of an interesting little film with its semi-documentary look and a composed pace of 99 minutes that generates a neat noir worthy of consideration from the public domain. One film that seems to have taken some inspiration from this was Reservoir Dogs (1992) with its aspects of the robbery. The screenplay was done by George Bruce and Harry Essex, while Harold Greene and Rowland Brown did the story. Payne (known for his musical and noir roles) does a fine job in his weary urgency, capable of throwing a punch alongside casual criminal conversation. Gray accompanies the film once the film jumps to its real setting (Mexico, filmed in California), and she makes for a fair innocent presence in a film with plenty of shade around her. Foster proves to be a sharp careful presence as the film's big bad, one that differs from the usual in being a good cop gone bad. Brand, Van Cleef, and Elam make for adequate heavies to view alongside the blunt nature of the film, comprised of the perfect caper and the attempts to escape its consequences. It follows plenty of noir aspects to a T with its own blunt edge that overcomes some of its low-budget limitations. Sure, it is the kind of film that you can see coming with its endgame, but it is all in the chase that really matters in the long run, where darkness has a little light at the end of the tunnel. In that regard, this is a fair experience to behold, one with plenty of punches to pack in its little cynical world without becoming a parody of itself, filled with a carefully picked cast and capable directing to make a fair gem worth thinking about at least once.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.