This powerfully-directed thriller by Anthony Mann is about somebody who gets framed. Mann knew how to deliver, and it is very gritty. There are some crackling lines of dialogue and sharp performances. Jane Randolph is outstanding as a hard-bitten moll with a vulnerable streak, who starts out determined and then wobbles when things finally get too extreme. The film is about the frame-up of an innocent boy for a robbery and a killing. Behind it all is the ruthless psychotic gunman John ("don't give me that love stuff!") Ireland, who never had any trouble making people believe he would kill them as soon as look at them. (He was also a bit of a lady-killer off screen, at least one gal thought so and told me about it, but she lived.) Sheila Ryan is convincing as the good girl who gets it all wrong and makes things worse by suspecting the good guy and trusting the bad guy. Things get pretty tense, John Ireland just seems to want to shoot everybody, and he always seems to be one move ahead. It's amazing what you can do with a gun if you know how, or with a camera if you are Anthony Mann.
Review of Railroaded!
