Monday, April 7th, 2008

DEAD RECKONING Hits Dead On

I’d been waiting all year for this festival and couldn’t wait to see what programmer Fast Eddie Muller would dig up this time around. I wasn’t disappointed. The opening night of NOIR CITY packed ‘em in with two criminally under-seen films noirs: DESERT FURY and DEAD RECKONING. I missed the first but snatched up the second like a sweaty safecracker hauling in loot from a double-door.

Humphrey Bogart (as a World War II Vet looking for his vanished army buddy) and Lizbeth Scott (as a Torch Singer once involved with the friend) do a wonderful dance of death from the moment they meet. Bogey snarls and sniggers accusations; Lizbeth purrs and demurs. Amazing how, sixty-plus years after this was film was shot, the audience still chortled at Bogey’s choicest lines, like “Maybe she was all right and maybe Christmas comes in July. But I wasn’t buying it.”

1 Comments:

1. Though it’s been a little while since I’ve seen this film, I do remember a strong similarity with the Lizbeth Scott character in this one and the Mary Aster character in The Maltese Falcon.

   In both, the women leads had something to do with the deaths of Bogart’s face or partner, and he’s supposed to do something about it.

   I remember what tipped him off when solving the case, the faint smell of Jasmine.  Funny how the smell of cigarettes doesn’t matter in.  However, Bogart in 1947 was at the top of his game.

   This is a near classic.

   Posted by  on  04/11  at  06:45 AM