I'm still making my way through the excellent Warners film noir series; almost done with the 2fers now with this release. John Farrow must be best known for the noir he made the following year, His Kind of Woman which is really a delirious parody of the tough-guy genre, starring Robert Mitchum who also headlines this only slightly more serious example. Here Mitchum plays a much straighter, more upright character than usual, young Dr. Jeff Cameron who (rather inexplicably) falls immediately in love or lust with the erratic Margo Lannington (Faith Domergue), who introduces herself as the daughter of a wealthy man (Claude Rains) after Mitchum treats her for attempted suicide. He soon finds out that not all is at it seems with either Ms. Lannington or her "father" and soon the couple is on the run from the law, leaving behind both more stable if less exciting nurse who loves Jeff, and perhaps all chance of a normal life.
The film jumps around, at times seemingly at random, between a more comedic travlogue storyline and the darker noirish tones as Cameron struggles with the effects of a concussion while trying to get himself and the increasingly mad and dangerous Margo to the border and into Mexico. Call it a cross between 'It Happened One Night' and 'Double Indemnity', mood-wise, and if you're thinking that couldn't possibly work, you're right to some extent. Mitchum, the nice colorful flavor of the border towns the couple flee through, and quick pacing keep it quite watchable, but it's a mess overall and the comedic elements tend to rob it of tension. Still quite entertaining and a must for noir and/or Mitchum aficionados.
The film jumps around, at times seemingly at random, between a more comedic travlogue storyline and the darker noirish tones as Cameron struggles with the effects of a concussion while trying to get himself and the increasingly mad and dangerous Margo to the border and into Mexico. Call it a cross between 'It Happened One Night' and 'Double Indemnity', mood-wise, and if you're thinking that couldn't possibly work, you're right to some extent. Mitchum, the nice colorful flavor of the border towns the couple flee through, and quick pacing keep it quite watchable, but it's a mess overall and the comedic elements tend to rob it of tension. Still quite entertaining and a must for noir and/or Mitchum aficionados.