I've never seen a film which has Golden Delicious apples at the centre of its story.
Terrific, lively script from the great A.I. Bezzerides (On Dangerous Ground, Kiss Me Deadly and the novel of Desert Fury), from his own novel 'Thieves' Market', shows Richard Conte out to get his dad's money back, quickly (and by his own admission) getting suckered into a get-rich-quick scheme with Millard Mitchell.
Good tense filming with trucks, accompanied by a slightly jokey double-act of Jack Oakie and Joseph Pevney (who move from vulture-like bystanders to becoming integral to the plot), then entanglement with crooked grocer Lee J Cobb and his duo of dimwits. And Conte gets set up with bad girl Valentina Cotese who turns out better than his fiancée Barbara Lawrence.
I had to laugh when the truck crashed and the apples were everywhere; I wasn't laughing a minute later...
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| How do you like them apples? |
Seems like the ending was lightly softened (would like to have seen Cobb lose hands in retaliation, cops take him away but on what charge?) but overall top noir.
Made for Fox, shot by Norbert Brodine with little (any?) music.
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