He Ran All the Way (1951)
This is a terrific film, and film noir, at its best. The first half hour is filled with ordinary scenes in post-war New York: a pool, a warehouse, and the streets, at day and night. Quite compelling stuff. John Garfield is sympathetic, if a bit over his head in this role, and Shelly Winters is superb as the girl trapped by a killer and by her sudden affection for a man that seems to have no outlet.
But the film is not always at its best. The main portion is contained and static, even if there is an attempt at psychological intensity, for sure. I can't give too much away here, but want to provide a sense of the overall excitement at first that leads to a more interior film, where it flounders a bit.
There a plot elements that you have to go along with, and Garfield might be partly trapped by the script, having to play an deeply conflicted and impulsive type in ways that might not make sense. So just keep going, and realize that eventually the main point is to get the protective nature of parents for their innocent child, and get the child's yearning for a real reason to love someone.
And to get Garfield's dimwittedness and accept it. Maybe some people really are that foolish. The final scene with Garfield slowly realizing what matters most of all might be true is moving if you buy into all that led to it.
The strongest element of all here is the photography by James Wong Howe. There are closeups and astonishing harsh lighting and a foreground/background sensibility that take noir to its heights. See it for that if nothing else.
This is a terrific film, and film noir, at its best. The first half hour is filled with ordinary scenes in post-war New York: a pool, a warehouse, and the streets, at day and night. Quite compelling stuff. John Garfield is sympathetic, if a bit over his head in this role, and Shelly Winters is superb as the girl trapped by a killer and by her sudden affection for a man that seems to have no outlet.
But the film is not always at its best. The main portion is contained and static, even if there is an attempt at psychological intensity, for sure. I can't give too much away here, but want to provide a sense of the overall excitement at first that leads to a more interior film, where it flounders a bit.
There a plot elements that you have to go along with, and Garfield might be partly trapped by the script, having to play an deeply conflicted and impulsive type in ways that might not make sense. So just keep going, and realize that eventually the main point is to get the protective nature of parents for their innocent child, and get the child's yearning for a real reason to love someone.
And to get Garfield's dimwittedness and accept it. Maybe some people really are that foolish. The final scene with Garfield slowly realizing what matters most of all might be true is moving if you buy into all that led to it.
The strongest element of all here is the photography by James Wong Howe. There are closeups and astonishing harsh lighting and a foreground/background sensibility that take noir to its heights. See it for that if nothing else.