Greetings again from the darkness. What a treat to see this one on the big screen, some 56 years after its release. This is famed director Stanley Kubrick‘s first real feature-length film and is a quasi-film noir near the end of that genre’s run. You undoubtedly know Kubrick’s more famous work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining, among others. His amazing eye with the camera is on full display here, but this provides quite a different look from his later works.
Sterling Hayden stars as Johnny, the leader of a gang who plans to rob a racetrack of 2 million dollars. At its core, this is a traditional heist film, but it is presented in anything but a traditional manner. The non-linear timeline and constant flashbacks and flash-forwards influenced many future filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan. For the era, this was incredibly unique and a bit experimental. In fact, the studio forced Kubrick to add the narrator post-production to make it easier for the viewer to follow. The narrator is Art Gilmore, a prolific voice actor, who was heard in numerous movies, TV shows and previews.
Support work is provided by many familiar character actors that we all recognize. Elisha Cook is best known for his work in The Maltese Falcon and Vince Edwards gained fame as TV’s “Ben Casey”. There are two actresses of note here. Marie Windsor plays the scheming, double-crossing wife/girlfriend whom Hayden’s character claims has a dollar sign right where her heart should be. Ms. Windsor also appeared in Swamp Women, director Roger Corman‘s directorial debut. Coleen Gray plays Hayden’s loyal girlfriend. Ms. Gray had a long, prolific career as an actress, but never achieved the stardom that many predicted.
As viewers, we are included in most of the strategy involved in the heist and recognize many of the details as they occur. One of the more fascinating scenes is a bar fight featuring Kola Kwariani. This is a very unusually staged fight and is actually quite humorous today, with a touch of The Three Stooges. This was Mr. Kwariani’s only film appearance and it’s quite memorable for a professional wrestler! Another sequence that really stands out features Timothy Carey as a sharpshooter. His speech pattern is a bit bizarre, but we never doubt his commitment to the cause. Carey’s character has a very daring exchange with a race track security guard that is even uncomfortable so many years later.
Kubrick was groomed as a still photographer and his expert eye is obvious in each of his films. His approach to filming the horse racing scenes is spectacular, and stands in contrast to his love of stressed faces in close-ups. Supposedly Rodney Dangerfield appears as an extra during the bar fight, but I missed him. Probably need the DVD for that! This one is certainly worth checking out for a glimpse into early Kubrick and the screen magnetism of Sterling Hayden … who 16 years later (as Sgt McClusky) would break the jaw of Michael Corleone with a single punch, and later be the victim of one of Hollywood’s all-time mob hit scenes in Louis restaurant.
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are interested in what early Kubrick looks like compared to his later hits OR you want to see Sterling Hayden in prime form
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: the gangster and heist films of the 40’s and 50’s aren’t to your taste
see the original trailer:
Posted by David Ferguson 
Movie Reviews from the Dark 