Directed
by Phil Karlson, this production helped establish the heist film. It
was produced by Stirling Silliphant and John Barnwell for Columbia
Pictures with a screenplay based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel of the
same name. George Duning's score adds the right amount of heft when
needed. For the most part, the eighty-three minutes play out logically until the nonsensical ending. Karlson's realism is evident right from the opening night
scene in Reno, Nevada as a campus foursome arrive
and have their car parked on an upper level by a nifty hydraulic
parking garage system. There is plenty of genuine comic dialogue but
the script's humorous quips wear a bit thin, in part due to the film
eventually taking a darker turn. Enrolled to further their matrimonial studies are Brian Keith, Guy Madison, Kerwin Mathews, and
Alvy Moore, appearing to be the only age-appropriate student—at thirty-four!—judging by his mannerisms, physique, and crew cut. He is enrolled as the film's
levity. If you can get past the age absurdity, you are nearly halfway there.
Returning to campus after their Korean War duty, pre-law
students, Madison and Keith, are somewhat the "fathers" to the other two collegians. Madison is the straight
arrow of the two. Capitalizing on some early roles, Keith's script
dictates a volatile nature due to battle shock and a metal plate in
his head yet refuses further treatments in the VA's psych ward.
During this era, a metal plate worked its way into a number of
post-war actor heads. But there are five against the house. Enter Madison's
girlfriend, Kim Novak, now reunited. To his astonishment, she has
become a singer at a Glendale nightclub. He had no idea she could
sing and never suspected her voice would be dubbed. The chosen studio
singer matches Novak's vocal range accurately enough, but it is no
longer believable. Thankfully there is only one number to sit
through.
Due
to a sizable inheritance, the wealthy Matthews—perhaps
paying cash for each semester—is
obsessed with a plan to rob Harold's Club in Reno. Just for
the exhilaration. All the money would be quickly returned—how
is never addressed—ensuring
that no one involved would be guilty of a crime. Right. Matthews
purchases a used trailer and car to pull it and then fabricates a
cash cart—entirely from
memory—identical to the ones
used at the club. The complex operation depends on Madison's
participation—and a gullible
audience—if it is to succeed,
however. Throwing a curve into the plan is Madison's intention to
marry Novak in Reno. The entire “wedding party” takes the seven
hundred twenty-mile drive to Reno. Before long, Madison realizes
something is up and forces the trio's hand. The happy couple want no
part in it. That will not do, according to the unbalanced Keith, who
now has no plan of returning the money or sharing it. Losing all
sense of reason he threatens to bring them all down for their part if
he gets caught.
They
pull off the ideally-timed theft with the help of a nervous William
Conrad, in charge of the club's cash cart, during Western costume
days. Matthews has a reel-to-reel tape recorder hidden inside the
duplicate cart that plays a threatening recording on his command,
psychologically making Conrad think “the guy in there” will shoot
him if he does not play along. How Matthews turns the recorder on and
off or how Conrad could not be aware of the cart's lack of weight is
purely suspended disbelief. Madison catches up with the fleeing Keith
and their special bond results in a tearful, emotional collapse of the
latter in the same garage where the film opened. The police are there
to arrest Keith and everyone else is preposterously ignored for their
part in the scheme. The viewer assumes Keith will not squeal on the
other four and his metal...er...mental condition will result in a light sentence.
Apparently, Conrad will keep silent when asked about his traumatic
quarter-hour experience.
Note:
This is certainly an entertaining film and generally got positive
reviews at the time. But as time tends to enhance old films, this
unknown noir has been raised to a higher level by some. The acting is
commendable but Keith is the only standout performer, eliciting a
wide range of emotions. Novak's early film role seems well-suited for
the fairly one-dimensional Madison. However, the posters defy any
thought of her in a supporting role. It is more like four against
one.
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