THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (1955)

This seventy-three-minute B-movie is loaded with all the ingredients of a little-known film. But it is not. With a meager budget and a ten-day shooting schedule, it was destined to return a profit. Produced by Roger Corman with a story by the same, this Palo Alto Productions film was the first produced for American International Pictures. He took home the checkered flag for this one. There is no Diesel in this film, however. It stars John Ireland, who also directed, along with Edward Sampson. Corman updated his resumé after seeing Ireland’s good results. Getting few casting calls at this point in her career, Dorothy Malone signed on as the second-billed lead. Despite the necessary dialogue to explain why Ireland is furious, and Malone drives fast, it is full of entertainment value and plenty of Corman trademarks. The two leads seem made for each other, and perhaps a catalyst for moviegoers. Filming at the Pebble Beach racing circuit may have boosted ticket sales—plenty of vintage sports car footage for the automobile fan.

There is a puzzling opening to the film that has the feel of a truncated theatrical trailer. The viewer has to wait about forty minutes to find out what it is all about. 

In another furrowed-brow role, Ireland plays a guy framed for murder. The only means of escaping the rap is to break jail. Minding his own business in a diner, Malone drives up in her Jaguar XK120 V-6 to get a glass of pineapple juice. Try requesting that in North Dakota. A blonde motormouth waitress, Iris Adrian—the physical equivalent of today's social media—is full of opinions and gossip about the recent murder. She is irritating Ireland, as does a rotund male customer who keeps probing him with questions. He pulls a revolver on Ireland; there is a scuffle, and "Lumpy" gets decked. The Jaguar did not go unnoticed. Ireland hustles Malone out of the diner and suspends her driving privileges. She might come in handy as a suggested couple. What she becomes is a nightmare hostage, frustrating him to no end as she tries to escape, throws the ignition key in the weeds, or constantly complains. They dislike each other immediately.

The unconscious music score is the single worst element in the film. A Corman tradition. It is never appropriate for any given scene, as if they randomly chose selections from a music library based on the album's cover art. The first inappropriate use is during Malone’s arrival at the diner with situation comedy music of the era. I half expected a laugh track when she ordered the pineapple juice. An over-the-top theme is used as the two escape motorcycle police. The complicated, raging orchestral music is played at a very low level, so it will be less noticeable. But the scene calls for tension from a sustained note. Some of today’s action thrillers have a fear of silence, like so many people on a picnic who cannot eat outdoors without a sound system making willows weep. I digress. 

The music quietly and mindlessly crescendos as Malone excitedly says, “I’m Hungry!” Later, upon entering a roadblock, Ireland pulls a gun on Malone. “Don’t try anything,” he snarls. Hollywood's idle threat is always stupid. If he fires the gun, the police will be on top of him, plus there is no point in shooting her. Maybe Ireland really is a psycho. No surprise they get through after telling the authorities they are participating in the nearby international race. Suddenly, Malone gets playfully sarcastic as her mood changes. Soon, “humorous” jabs are traded, signifying an upshift in their relationship.

Malone is well-known and respected on the racing circuit. She enters her car in the cross-border race, but Ireland will drive the manly course. Riding as a passenger, she verbally points out the correct driving techniques to be a winner as they take a practice run over the course. Ireland is an implausibly quick learner. She did not coach Ireland on how to appear believable when “driving” the studio prop car, though. His face looks positively numb. Suspicious of Ireland is Malone’s racing friend, Bruce Carlisle, who is given the caution flag for worst acting. The racing sequences, using shaky, rear-facing race footage, add some excitement. Rather humorous, though, is the race announcer calling turns and spotting cars over the long-distance road course despite a thick forest and distant hills obscuring his view. Ireland and Carlisle battle for the win until the latter loses control and crashes. Ireland’s plan for his Mexico exit does not become a reality as he stops to help his fellow racer.

Note: Dorothy Malone’s hit-and-miss career might be compared to that of a contemporary of hers, Marsha Mason. Malone’s most visible role may have been her lead in television’s “Peyton Place.” Originally a brunette, dyeing her hair platinum boosted her career for a short time, as an assumed alternative to Monroe. But there were plenty of those.

OPEN SECRET (1948)

There is a strong film noir atmosphere established in this film even before the opening credits roll. The cryptic dialogue among a masquerading band of patriotic poker players is both intriguing and confusing. Some great camera work by George Robinson in this opening scene. Among them is second-tier actor King Donovan, in his first movie role. The viewer is probably hooked at this point. This is another film of the era about antisemitism after World War II, and it has its place. Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films for Marathon Pictures, the entire cast accounts for themselves quite well. Inevitably, compared to other major studios' expensively produced antisemitic films, this portrays hate from within a low-income, less-educated crowd. There is not much to fault during its sixty-seven minutes, with John Ireland about to hit Hollywood star status for his role in Red River the same year.

Newlyweds Ireland and Jane Randolph, acting on an invitation, travel for a stay with Ireland's World War II buddy, now working as a photographer. But he cannot be found. His apartment has been ransacked—a frequent occurrence—but Ireland suspects something more sinister than mere robbery. Anne O’Neal stands out as the busybody, yet gracious, landlady of Ireland's friend. The actress who may be the most frequently misidentified as Margaret Hamilton of Wicked Witch fame. While Ireland goes off in search of his buddy, he asks if he would have dinner with his wife to keep her company. O’Neal says that it is awfully nice, but she is on a diet. Apparently, she only eats once a week.

After shooting a few rolls of film, Ireland gets them developed and printed. He is unaware that there is an extra film role included by Randolph. Frames were taken by his buddy with incriminating evidence of an antisemitic murder. George Tyne has a pivotal role as a Jewish camera shop owner who is regularly harassed. The thugs want that film and track down Ireland’s buddy to get it. The couple soon realizes the problem as they encounter uneducated, myopic thinkers. Randolph does not understand how people can behave this way. Ireland tries to explain in a foretelling bit of scriptwriting about Twenty-First Century liberals. 'I guess some people can't live without hating. The only way they can feel superior. Some people hate because they're stupid. Some hate because they're told to.'

Though initially skeptical of Ireland's theory, Sheldon Leonard agrees to look into finding the missing buddy. Leonard is one laid-back detective, totally in control and unflappable. Also, a guy with empathy for local delinquents. It would have been fun to have him reprise his role in a film series based around his character, though he was more often associated with the opposite side of the law, given his trademarked gangster vocal delivery. One thing is for sure: Leonard is a great marksman. He casually nails a fleeing bigot more than once while he is escaping down an alley. All at a sizable distance, leaning out of Ireland’s apartment window. The cinematography stands out again during a cemetery gravesite scene for Ireland's buddy, killed for getting too close to the opinionated. All the standing attendees are in dark silhouettes against a contrasting light sky, giving off an eerie vibe.

Ireland infiltrates the bigotry boys club led by the sometimes lovable, but not here, Arthur O'Connell. Ireland's identity is soon discovered with a closing fistfight in near-total darkness. With the film’s budget on the producer’s mind, that darkness may have hidden the need for any re-shooting. The ending has a confident Leonard walking the urban neighborhood at night, knowing they are safer than when the film began.

Note: Herschel Burke Gilbert was a monumental force in early television music scores. He was the first to provide an original score for a television series, the popular western, “The Rifleman,” where the lead characters had their own cues for funny, sad, or dangerous scenes. This soundtrack was reworked in 1952 into a library of music cues for several shows of the era, the most obvious may be “The Adventures of Superman.”

RAILROADED (1947)

Anthony Mann kept busy directing in the late forties. Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films, this seventy-two-minute film is based on a real-life case, forming the basis of a more famous film, Call Northside 777, the following year. This shoe-string budgeted film adds an extra dose of noir, so dark at times it is hard to see what’s going on. In the climactic scene, Hugh Beaumont and John Ireland aim guns in cave darkness better than most. With this very predictable, loaded script, one wonders how the police could accuse someone on hearsay and speculation and be such a bad judge of character. Obviously, things have not changed that much since. There is the usual suspense with questions and answers. Sheila Ryan is not a good judge of character either, as she assumes John Ireland is just having a bad day. Again. He was usually typecast as a bad guy or down and out loser. Hugh Beaumont, on the other hand, typically played a person in authority and is solid here as a thorough, cool and collected investigator. Just the opposite, Ireland loses his cool often with no sanctity for life.

Note: You may enjoy this one. The strangulated budget hurts the worse. Enjoy watching Beaumont's competent acting before "retiring" as an investigator and using his skills to figure out what Wally and Theodore are up to.