After a wages robbery gone wrong, murderer John Garfield picks up timid shop girl Shelley Winters in a public swimming pool, takes her back to her family apartment and - shades here of The Desperate Hours - takes the whole family hostage while he thinks of A Way Out (an alternative title).
There's a single, telling moment though where the killer shows on ounce of compassion. The little brother hits him and when exhausted falls into him sobbing - and Garfield cradles his head. Somewhere along the line (vile mother, no sign of father) he's gone the wrong way, but there's something decent left in him. And does she feel something for him - I don't know why?
It's a cracking performance from Garfield, his last. He died the following year after being blacklisted by HUAC.
With Wallace Ford, Selena Royle, Gladys George, Norman Lloyd, Robert Hyatt. Perfectly photographed by James Wong Howe, cracking score from Franz Waxman. An independent production from Roberts pictures, written by Hugo Butler and Guy Endore from Sam Ross's novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment