Category: crime film
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It Took Two Directors to Tell the Murder, Inc. Story
Humphrey Bogart as Dist. Atty. Martin Ferguson “The Enforcer” is one of the lesser appreciated Bogart films, but it deserves more attention than it gets. Granted, it’s no “Maltese Falcon.” It would be a tall order equaling “Falcon” director John Huston’s artistry. But “Enforcer” directors Bretaigne Windust and Raoul Walsh (uncredited) pull off an impressive…
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This Scarface is in Chicago, Not Miami
Living dangerously, Tony Camonte muscles in on his boss’s girlfriend. “Scarface” (1932) is one of the seminal American gangster films of the 1930s, along with “Little Caesar,” “The Roaring Twenties” and “The Public Enemy.” Each one tells the story of a gangster’s rise in the bootlegging business and his assent to the top of a powerful…
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‘The Crimson Kimono’: Big Crime in Little Tokyo
Tawdry newspaper headlines bark out plot twists in ‘The Crimson Kimono’ (1959). Director, producer and writer Samuel Fuller photographs the streets of downtown L.A. stunningly in “The Crimson Kimono,“ a film that’s part mystery, part love triangle and part travelogue. We get to see the downtown exteriors, particularly Little Tokyo as it looked in 1959,…
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Crime Erupts Under the Streets of L.A.
Much of “He Walked by Night” is held together with the loose thread of documentary-style film-making. But those parts are no match or the last 20 minutes or so of the film that prowls the lower reaches of the city. Richard Basehart is the killer who terrorizes L.A. and can’t be stopped. Few have ever…
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Crime in the New Wild West
A lot of people say that “No Country for Old Men” is Joel and Ethan Coen’s best film so far. I’d find that a difficult choice to make. But I’ll say that “No Country” is one of my favorites. Javier Bardem has gotten all the kudos for his portrayal of devil incarnate Anton Chigurh —…
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Their Mileage May Vary: Thundering Down ‘Plunder Road’
I took James Ellroy’s advice — it didn’t come directly from him, you understand — and checked out “Plunder Road,” one of his all-time favorite crime films that was included in Monday’s post. It’s a great-looking, pared-down gritty drama made in 1957, obviously on a small budget. The cast includes the great Elisha Cook Jr.,…
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‘Snatch’: A Well Oiled Machine About … What?
Turkish (Jason Statham), Mickey O;Neil (Brad Pitt) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) in ‘Snatch.’ The problem with “Snatch,” Guy Ritchie’s crime drama/comedy that looks at life through the eyes of Turkish (Jason Statham), a London promoter of unlicensed boxing matches, is that the film’s not really about anything. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty that happens plot-wise.…