HELL ON FRISCO BAY

Alan Ladd

HELL ON FRISCO BAY (1955). Director: Frank Tuttle. 

Ex-cop Steve Rollins (Alan Ladd) was framed for a murder he didn't commit and sent to prison for five years. When he gets out he is determined to find out who really murdered the victim and clear his name. He pretty much ignores his wife, Marcia (Joanne Dru), because he wants to protect her and also because she dared to dally with a gentleman out of loneliness when Steve wouldn't even let her come to see him. The San Francisco docks are controlled by a nasty man named Victor Amato (Edward G. Robinson), who has a good right hand, Joe (Paul Stewart), and a good-for-nothing nephew, Mario (Perry Lopez), who loves the ladies. Joe spends his nights with a former movie star named Kay (Fay Wray) while Victor is stuck with his pious wife, Anna (Renata Vanni), who treats Mario like a son and thinks he should be a priest. Steve talks to assorted individuals in the hopes they can give him information that might help him, but when Amato offers him a job, and Steve turns him down, he vows to make him pay -- painfully. 

Robinson and Fay Wray

Hell on Frisco Bay is a fast-paced and entertaining film noir thriller with many intriguing elements and a highly interesting cast. Ladd could probably play this kind of role in his sleep by now, but he manages to stay awake and acquits himself nicely. A deceptively cheery Robinson slowly unveils the layers of corruption and evil until he reveals the slimy lizard at his core, going so far as to order Joe to murder his own nephew. Stewart is excellent as the hired gun who's trying to get out from under Robinson's thumb. Fay Wray scores as Kay, and one of the best scenes is between Wray and Robinson as Amato makes a pass at her and gets angry when she turns him down, hitting her. "Get out, you filthy peasant!" she screams. Joanne Dru is acceptable as Marcia, giving solid line readings that don't always hit the emotional mark. 

William Demarest and Rod Taylor

The film is also full of flavorful performances by a wide variety of supporting players. William Demarest is a cop and friend of Steve's while Willis Bouchey is the police lieutenant who has to be convinced of Steve's innocence. Rod Taylor plays a hood who may have committed the murder Steve was sent away for with Tina Carver as his girlfriend. Peter Hansen [When Worlds Collide] is the corrupt cop, Connors, and Anthony Caruso [The Asphalt Jungle] is especially notable as a fisherman who is scared that if he talks to Steve his young son, George (Peter J. Votrian, who is also good) may come to harm. Renata Vanni probably made a career out of playing long-suffering wives or mothers. Nestor Paiva plays another dock worker who tries to work things out with Amato and only winds up dead. Perry Lopez [The Steel Jungle] plays the sexy but weak nephew to perfection. Jayne Mansfield plays his date.

Paul Stewart with Robinson

Ladd is manhandled by the chubby gunsel Hammy (Stanley Adams) in one scene and turns the tables on him, beating him up and telling Joe to "get your pig outa here!" The film has a boat chase at the end that is exciting although not quite on the level of similar scenes in those old cliffhangers. Although this might not be listed among Max Steiner's greatest scores, it is effective and thrilling when it needs to be. The screenplay is good, but one wishes the picture crackled with tension -- although it comes close at times -- but director Frank Tuttle doesn't make the film quite as explosive as it could have been. Still, it's quite well-played and snappy.

Verdict: Memorable crime drama with some outstanding performances. ***.