Cast:
John Garfield (Nick Robey), Shelley Winters (Peg Dobbs), Wallace Ford (Mr. Dobbs), Selena Royle (Mrs. Dobbs), Gladys George (Mrs. Robey), Norman Lloyd (Al Molin), Bobby Hyatt (Tommy Dobbs), and Clancy Cooper (Stan) Directed by John Berry.
Review:
Remember John Garfield? Tough guy actor, Method acting pioneer, martyr for the cause of not naming names, one probably should remember this actor. He had made his debut on Broadway at the age of nineteen in 1932 after rising from a tough upbringing to honing his craft in New York theatre (such as the Group Theatre). Six years later, he appeared in his first film with Four Daughters (1938) and garnered an Academy Award nomination to start his first couple of years in the Warner Bros. studio system before he decided to venture out with his own production company in the mid-1940s; Body and Soul (1947) was the highlight of the three-year run. Garfield died at the age of 39 from long-term heart problems (he had scarlet fever as a child while missing service in World War II because of his heart) in 1952. One year earlier, he appeared in his last feature film with He Ran All the Way, which was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Sam Ross. Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay adaptation. Two months before this film was released, Garfield was asked to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He was a member of the Committee for the First Amendment, which was in support of ten individuals that were cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted when they didn't answer questions of alleged involvement with the Communist Party, which included Trumbo; being a part of that committee, combined with a wife who actually was a member of the Communist Party in America and testimony that did not "name names", led to Garfield being ignored by studios. Incidentally, John Berry was also wrapped up in the HUAC witch-hunt, because Edward Dmytryk (a member of the aforementioned "Hollywood Ten") decided to testify and named Berry as a communist (Berry had indeed been in the party for a time). Berry would have to move away from America to find work to direct for a time; Berry returned and eventually got to direct features again, most notably with Claudine (1974). Butler himself was chased out of working in Hollywood for a number of years because of the HUAC. The film, distributed by United Artists, made $1 million on original release.
Seemingly, you can find a noir classic if you know where to go. There is a great sense of claustrophobia present for a movie with such a delicate sense of self for 78 minutes. Garfield as a whole deserved better, but he really pulled it all in with this performance of a scared creature that is exposed to the elements when you see him opposite other people. Sure, you might wonder what he is doing interacting with a mother in the intro where he looks a bit old to still be around living with her, but then I think that even there it seems clear that we are dealing with someone who lives only to use people and things as much as he tries to do because of how alone he really is. Imagine the depths one has to go to make people be around you and all one can come up with is aggression. Garfield just sells that desperation in such a quick amount of time that makes one realize that some Method guys really could just lock in when they needed to. Incidentally, this is the same year that Winters was nominated for her first Academy Award for her performance in A Place in the Sun. Interestingly, she was so into the idea of being into this film with Garfield and Berry that when faced with the idea of having to turn down the film for some contract costume drama (Little Egypt), she intentionally went on an eating habit (apparently over a week and a weekend) to gain weight to get out of that film, which worked. It is easy to see her talent, because she plays opposite Garfield with such worthwhile timing that makes the drama of collaboration with a kidnapper-turned-accomplice so fascinating. Ford provides the usual character actor stuff that is reliable in terms of apprehension, as one would expect from someone in the middle of a growing shaky bond between man and woman. As a whole, this is a damn good movie, with Berry and Garfield leading the way in worthwhile tension in the portrait of a scared creature and the personality that comes out in such a rapid-fire and terse way for such a grim and devastating film, particularly in its climax in those last few minutes.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
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