85% (2)  The Hitch-Hiker  71 min,  APPROVED,  [Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller]  [Ida Lupino]  [29 Apr 1953]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 70%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 100%,   External Reviews
Awards:  1 win.
Actors:  Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, José Torvay, William Talman
Writer:  Collier Young (screenplay), Ida Lupino (screenplay), Robert L. Joseph (adaptation)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English, Spanish    Country:  USA
Plot:  Two friends on a fishing trip pick up a stranded motorist who turns out to be a psychotic escaped convict. This sociopath has already murdered other good Samaritans in his efforts to evade authorities. He sadistically taunts and threatens the two men and perversely delights in telling them that he has them both marked for death sometime before the end of the trip. His destination is a ferryboat in Baja, California, which he hopes will help him get to the mainland. The hostages hope to stay alive long enough to escape or be rescued by Mexican authorities.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Two men on a fishing trip pick up a psychopathic fugitive with an intense hatred of humanity in this relentlessly suspenseful thriller directed by Ida Lupino and written by Daniel Mainwaring (Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Ray Collins (Edmund O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) are on their way to a relaxing weekend on the lake when they make the fateful mistake of giving a ride to Emmett Myers (William Tallman), a ruthless killer on the run from the cops. As a young child Myers was severely abused, and now he's determined to make the world suffer for the atrocities committed against him. An unrepentant sadist, Myers repeatedly uses his faulty eye (which is permanently open) to trick his two terrified victims into believing they have gained the upper hand in the tense stand-off, only to turn the tables on them at the last second. Inspired by the horrific crimes of real life mass murderer William Cook, who was eventually executed in San Quentin.
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50% (2)  The Racket  88 min,  Approved,  [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller]  [John Cromwell, Mel Ferrer, Tay Garnett, Nicholas Ray, Sherman Todd]  [12 Dec 1951]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 68%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 33%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Lizabeth Scott, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, William Talman
Writer:  William Wister Haines (screenplay), W.R. Burnett (screenplay), Bartlett Cormack (play)
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  The big national crime syndicate has moved into town, partnering up with local crime boss Nick Scanlon. There are only two problems: First, Nick is the violent type, preferring to do things the old-fashioned way instead of using the syndicate's more genteel methods. The second problem is McQuigg, the only honest police captain on the force, and his loyal patrolman, Johnson. Together, they take on the violent Nick and try to foil the syndicate's plans to elect Welch, the crooked prosecutor running for a crooked judgeship.
Rotten Tomatoes:   The Racket was based on a play by Bartlett Cormack, first filmed as a silent in 1928. The storyline was updated to include references to Estes Kefauver's Senate Crime Investigating Committee: otherwise, the plot (and much of the dialogue) was lifted bodily from the Cormack play. Racketeer Robert Ryan has managed to get several government and law-enforcement higher-ups in his pocket. But Ryan can't touch the incorruptible police officer Robert Mitchum, who refuses all attempts at bribery. Ryan pulls strings to get Mitchum transferred to a series of undesirable precincts, but Mitchum will not be dissuaded. The battle of wills between cop and criminal comes to a head when mob-connected nightclub singer Lizabeth Scott turns on her former protector Ryan. The Broadway version of The Racket starred Edward G. Robinson as the racketeer; the 1928 film version featured Louis Wolheim in the Robinson role and Thomas Meighan as the upright cop. Both the silent and sound versions of the property were personally produced by Howard R. Hughes.
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71% (1)  Crashout  89 min,  Approved,  [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller]  [Lewis R. Foster]  [01 Mar 1955]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 71%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Arthur Kennedy, Luther Adler, William Bendix, William Talman
Writer:  Hal E. Chester, Lewis R. Foster
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Six convicts plan a prison break and are successful, though their ringleader (William Bendix) is injured in the attempt. He promises to share the fortune in gold he has stowed away if they help him get to a doctor.
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70% (1)  Armored Car Robbery  67 min,  PASSED,  [Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller]  [Richard Fleischer]  [08 Jun 1950]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 70%,   External Reviews
Awards:  1 nomination.
Actors:  Adele Jergens, Charles McGraw, Douglas Fowley, William Talman
Writer:  Earl Felton (screenplay), Gerald Drayson Adams (screenplay), Robert Angus (suggested by a story by), Robert Leeds (suggested by a story by)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Dave Purvis takes pride in being unknown to the law, though famed among fellow crooks as a planner He plots a holdup in meticulous detail; but things go wrong, a cop and two robbers are killed, and Purvis hides out with the money while Lieut. Cordell, friend of the dead cop, investigates. Purvis's new getaway plan shows promise, but may have one tiny flaw.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Some auteur critics feel that director Richard O. Fleischer did his best work while laboring in the "B" mills of RKO Radio. Fleischer's minimalist noir exercise Armored Car Robbery stars William Talman as the chief crook and Charles McGraw as the detective dogging his trail. A shade smarter than his gang underlings, Talman manages to elude capture, and even travels freely about in the company of his flashy lady friend Adele Jergens. But McGraw's persistence eventually pays off. Don McGuire, later a prolific TV producer/director, provides a welcome touch of comic relief as McGraw's rookie-cop assistant. A powerful (and slightly gruesome) climax caps this low-budget gem.
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68% (1)  City That Never Sleeps  90 min,  APPROVED,  [Crime, Drama, Film-Noir]  [John H. Auer]  [12 Jun 1953]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 68%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Edward Arnold, Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman
Writer:  Steve Fisher
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English    Country:  USA
Plot:  Chicago cop Johnny Kelly, dissatisfied with his job and marriage, would like to run away with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, but keeps getting cold feet. During one crowded night, Angel Face decides she's had enough vacillation, and crooked lawyer Biddel has an illegal mission for Johnny that could put him in a financial position to act. But other, conflicting schemes are also in progress...
Rotten Tomatoes:   John Auer directed and Steve Fisher wrote this police procedural film in the vein of the popular Detective Story of two years earlier. The film juggles around four characters through a particularly bad night in a Chicago precinct -- Johnny Kelly (Gig Young), a stressed out cop ready to crack; Sally "Angel Face" Connors (Mala Powers), a cheap strumpet lounge singer; Hayes Stewart (William Talman), a former magician and present thug; Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), a smooth and corrupt district attorney; and Sgt. Joe (Chill Wills), an Everyman character, known as "The Voice of Chicago." The skimpy plot concerns Kelly, who is having an affair with Angel Face and is ready to quit his job and leave his wife Kathy (Paula Raymond) at the drop of a hat. In order to get quick money to escape Chicago and start life anew with Angel Face, Kelly accepts an assignment and a payment from Biddel to escort low-life Stewart across the state line.
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59% (1)  One Minute to Zero  105 min,  APPROVED,  [Drama, War]  [Tay Garnett]  [01 Aug 1952]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 59%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Ann Blyth, Charles McGraw, Robert Mitchum, William Talman
Writer:  Milton Krims, William Wister Haines
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English, French    Country:  USA
Plot:  Wartime drama about an idealistic young UN official (Ann Blyth) who finds out about the horrors of war when she falls in love with Colonel Steve Janowski (Robert Mitchum), the officer in charge of evacuating citizens from Korea.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This Korean War drama is essentially a vehicle for RKO's top male star Robert Mitchum. He plays war-weary "Colonel Steve," obliged to contend with the North Korean forces while keeping troublesome UN official Linda Day (Ann Blyth) at arm's length. Some authentic Korean combat footage is well-integrated into the story. For all its talk about jet planes, Reds and atomic energy, the film is at base a redressed WW II drama. Good supporting performances are provided Charles McGraw as a tough sergeant and William Talman as a jet pilot. Reportedly budgeted at over two million dollars, One Minute to Zero had trouble making back its cost, despite the box-office pull of Robert Mitchum.
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