KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL

John Payne

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952). Director: Phil Karlson. 

Joe Rolfe (John Payne) is trying to rebuild his life after a brief stir in prison, but he has no idea that a certain individual has gathered together three desperate criminals to help him pull off a bank job. Rolfe, who drives a flower delivery truck, becomes the patsy in this scheme and winds up being questioned by police. Then the action switches to Mexico, where Rolfe tries to infiltrate the gang, which consists of Boyd Kane (Neville Brand), Peter Harris (Jack Elam), and Tony Romano (Lee Van Cleef of The Big Combo). Rolfe romances Helen (Coleen Gray of Kiss of Death), daughter of retired cop Tom Foster (Preston Foster of I, the Jury), while trying to uncover the identity of the mysterious leader and clear his name.

Lee Van Cleef with Payne

Kansas City Confidential is an excellent piece of film noir, with Payne in top form, and everyone else giving top-notch performances. Lee Van Cleef certainly makes his mark in this as the sinister Tony Romano, and it's easy to see why his formidable screen presence eventually had him hitting it big overseas; this is one of his best performances in an American flick. Jack Elam is effective in a different way, less menacing and more on a perpetual verge of panicking. Coleen Gray makes a feisty and credible leading lady, and Dona Drake of Beyond the Forest saunters sexily and brazenly through her scenes as resort employee Teresa. The film is well photographed by George E. Diskant, and Paul Sawtell, never quite considered in the league of the great film composers, contributes an evocative and exciting score.

Payne with Coleen Gray

Of course Kansas City Confidential mustn't be examined too closely. The leader of the gang wears a mask to hide his identity, but when he shows up later in the movie it's hard to believe that his associates wouldn't recognize his voice and physical shape, nor that they wouldn't recognize each other. I watched this on Amazon Prime where they were offering a colorized version, but the next day when I went to finish it, the color version had disappeared and I watched the rest in black and white. Strange. Vivi Janiss, who played one of the members of the "Ladies Fang and Claw Society" on I Love Lucy, has a small role as a resort guest. John Payne was involved romantically with Coleen Gray in-between his last two marriages.

Verdict: Suspenseful, with an intriguing plot and some impressive acting. ***. 

TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN

 Don Dubbins with his mentor, Cagney

TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN (1956). Director: Robert Wise.

"You act like a man with a lot of ideas, all of them second-rate and none of them honorable." 

"A man doesn't die of a broken heart from his first love, only from his last."

Young Steve Miller (Don Dubbins), who wants to be a cowboy or wrangler, winds up in the territory owned and run by Jeremy Rodock (James Cagney). Rodock has had to put up with people encroaching on his land and stealing horses and livestock for years, and he enacts his own rough justice, including hanging the perpetrators. The latest to earn his enmity is his old partner, L.A. Peterson (James Bell), and his son, Lars (Vic Morrow), but he may be wrong in his belief that either murdered one of his ranch hands. Rodock lives with Jocasta (Irene Papas, in her American debut), a woman with a past who is coveted by McNulty (Stephen McNally) and for whom Steve develops a growing infatuation. Finally tensions begin to boil over and Jocasta fears that Steve may develop the same hardness she sees in Jeremy, but is it possible that Rodock can mend his ways? Tribute to a Bad Man is an interesting western with some intriguing characters, and interactions among them, and the acting is uniformly good. Cagney is marvelous as the crusty autocrat with romantic leanings, and Papas gives a lovely performance as the woman he is devoted to. ("Introduced" in this film, Papas had already made several films overseas.) Don Dubbins was Cagney's protege, and the boyishly handsome actor always gives sensitive portrayals as he does here. McNally [The Lady Pays Off] and Morrow [Great White] make multi-dimensional villains, and James Bell and Jeannette Nolan [My Blood Runs Cold] score as Morrow's parents. Lee Van Cleef, Royal Dano, Peter Chong, and Onslow Stevens also make notable, if briefer, contributions. Cagney's patronage led to Dubbins appearing in this and These Wilder Years with Cagney, but the long career that followed consisted mostly of television work. This has nice widescreen Robert Surtees cinematography, adroit Robert Wise direction, a good Miklos Rozsa score, and a touching ending, although one could argue that the film certainly glosses over certain aspects of Rodock's character and actions.

Verdict: Romance and hangings in the wide open spaces. ***.

THE BIG COMBO

THE BIG COMBO (1955). Director: Joseph H. Lewis.

"A woman doesn't care how a man makes a living, only how he makes love."

There's a ferocious struggle going on between two determined men: Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) and his crooked antagonist, gang boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Caught up in this struggle are three women: Brown's unhappy, cultured paramour, Susan (Jean Wallace), whom Diamond cares for from afar; dancer Rita (Helene Stanton), who cares for Diamond; and the missing Alicia (Helen Walker), whom Diamond is trying to find. Add to this mix the jealous underling McClure (Brian Donlevy), who used to be the one in charge and now covets Brown's position, and the two gunsels Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman), the latter of whom seems to have real feelings for the former. There are murders, double-crosses, twisted feelings, and betrayals galore, all bolstered by excellent acting from the leads and most of the supporting cast. Particularly good scenes include Diamond's torture-by-hearing aid, and a murder later on in which the same hearing aid figures. Wallace [No Blade of Grass], Stanton, and Walker [Nightmare Alley] are all vivid and compelling in the roles of the three ladies. Ted de Corsia has a notable cameo as a scared former gangster; Jay Adler [99 River Street] and Robert Middleton score as Diamond's police associates; and John Hoyt makes a believable Swedish captain turned antique dealer who knows more than he should. Conte is deliciously slimy, and handsome Wilde also turns in an outstanding performance; Donlevy is also terrific. Well-directed by Lewis, The Big Combo is film noir at its best.

Verdict: Crackling good crime drama; one of the finest of the fifties. ***1/2.