George
Raft is the successful owner of a large trucking firm. His
bookkeeper, Raymond Burr, is sent packing on embezzlement
accusations. The scene shifts to Burr and his fellow inmates watching
a newsreel which includes highlights of Raft welcoming his young
brother home from the war. Raft would seem to be more mayor than
businessman to rate a newsreel feature. As the film's “reel of
revenge” turns in Burr's mind, the projectionist, Henry (Harry)
Morgan, is in the same frame of mind. The clipped, monotone dialogue
between them is an unintended humorous exchange of two vengeful guys.
Morgan was adept at playing disturbed, simple-minded individuals.
Again, he is downright scary here. Also typical of his early film
career, Burr is cold-blooded. Embezzlement was nothing. Expect
another hanging lamp over his shoulder in the otherwise darkness. With
nearly four years behind him, Morgan is due for prison release—on
good behavior—and follows through with Burr's request. Kill a
minister of the Gospel. Raft's brother.
This
is a good example of a forgotten film noir in the waning months of a
challenging decade. It is a solid endeavor with a flashback or two,
unexpected twists at the end, and more than its share of assumptions.
The cast is a no-fault affair of respected actors with a familiar
Raft in a fedora pursuing personal justice. The film is based on the
story by actor Don "Red Ryder" Barry, "This Guy
Gideon," with an underlying Biblical lesson about vengeance and
who will ultimately administer it. The misleading change of title is
understandable, as few would buy a ticket if Raft were a Gideon Bible
salesman. But not much thought seemed to go into it. The film is not
about traffic violators in San Francisco, though the opening credits
over a dark background are revealed to be the tunnel approaching the
Golden Gate Bridge. I sort of get it. Red means stop. The eighty-three minutes is competently directed and produced by Roy Del
Ruth and distributed by United Artists. It possesses the
quintessential harsh shadows and engaging camera angles of
cinematographer Bert Glennon. Still, the film would lack a great deal
of depth without the rolling thunder score by Dimitri Tiomkin. His
pounding rhythm elevates the film several notches. His repeated
motifs—some from an earlier composition—are appropriately applied
with a subtle recurring adaptation of Schubert's Ave Maria.
The
final cryptic words to Raft from his brother, Arthur Franz, mention
a Bible. Raft's assumed lead is to search the scriptures for a clue
to the murderer's name. Rifling through the pages is a time-consuming
waste of time for him. He prefers pounding the pavement in search of
the Gideon Bible stolen from a particular hotel room. Burr, now also
out from behind bars, wants to bury the hatchet and seek work with
his previous employer. While there, he overhears Raft recounting his
brother's last moments to his trusted employee, Gene Lockhart. Burr
assumes he needs that book first. The middle of the film has Raft
seeking his own revenge, interacting with an assortment of characters
who had stayed in that particular room. The most fortuitous is
Virginia Mayo, who agrees to help in his search, though she soon tires
of his lack of forthrightness. It is a pretty strong role for her and
appropriately not ostentatious.
Raft's
next lead takes him to Reno, and is soon aware Morgan has tailed him.
He sets up a sting with what looks like an indexed Bible and
purposely leaves it unattended on a counter. Morgan takes the bait.
At gunpoint, Raft ushers him off to the hotel room he shares with
Burr. The murderer discovers it is nothing more than a cookbook. There is a brief tussle before Morgan escapes out the window, taking a bullet
with him. Later on the train back to San Francisco, he tells Burr he
is through with getting shot at. Burr understands. An uppercut knocks
Morgan from the speeding train.
Mayo
has found the specific Bible and points out to the myopic Raft that
his brother simply wanted him to read what he had circled, Romans
12:19—his plea to not seek revenge, along with a personal
handwritten scribble for Raft. Cue the Ave Maria melody. It is the
start of Raft's transformation. Burr, the elephant in the room, shows
relief in his soft, boxy face. Imagine his surprise when face-to-face
with the smoldering, bleeding Morgan, whose revenge is unsuccessful
but proves that one may survive a header off a speeding train if you are in a Hollywood movie. Raft's
rooftop neon company sign is the next staging area for the usual
Hollywood chase upwards to nowhere. The viewer expects the obligatory
death plunge by Burr, only bouncing a couple of times after hitting
the pavement. But it becomes a science lesson that rain and
electricity should not simultaneously come together. Fried Burr-ito.
Note: A particularly cruel and startling segment involves Raft's trusted employee, Lockhart, his trucking dispatch officer. It is a dark evening when he makes his way to his car. It will not start. The distributor wires have been cut. Burr is hiding in the shadows, waiting for his moment. Lockhart is spooked and stumbles backward under a truck's trailer. Burr calmly approaches and kicks the jack away, which is suspending the trailer.
