CONNECTION TO PREVIOUS ENTRY: Brian Donlevy
SOURCE: Personal Collection, Kino Lorber Blu Ray
STARRING: Howard Duff, Brian Donlevy, Peggy Dow
CO-STARS: Lawrence Tierney, Bruce Bennett, Anne Vernon
DIRECTOR: Joseph Pevney
STUDIO: Universal
SUMMARY: Howard Duff plays photographer Jack Early who at the beginning of the film is seen running through a San Francisco freight yard. He is being chased by a group of men whose picture he’d taken, surreptitiously, but was ultimately spotted. Jack hides his camera and pulls out a fake camera and places it in his pocket. Obviously Jack has done this before. The men tackle Jack, beat him up, and throw his camera into the bay. When they leave, Jack retrieves his real camera. He develops the photos and brings the best photo, showing the men’s faces, to Ellen Bennett (Peggy Dow), the photograph editor at a major San Francisco newspaper. Dialogue between Ellen and Jack suggests that he’s been at the newspaper’s offices before and that he’s asked for a job before. Jack reveals his photo and Ellen is impressed enough to bring it to her editor, David Glover (Bruce Bennett). After negotiation, Jack is given a one week trial job in exchange for publishing rights to his photograph. Eventually, Jack is given an assignment getting a photo of noted gangster Nick Palmer (Brian Donlevy), who is known for not allowing his face to be photographed. Jack appeals to Nick’s ego and scores the photo. Nick is impressed with Jack’s gall and gives him a tip that his rival gangster, Colton (Lawrence Tierney), is planning to rob a department store. Jack gets the photo of the gang members’ faces. This sets off a game between Jack and the two gang members where he blackmails them with photographs. Eventually Jack gets a little too big for his britches.
FAVORITE PART(S):
1) The absolute lack of scruples that Jack has when it comes to scoring his great photographs. He witnesses a drunk man crash into the bay and has him pose for a photo, then leaves without helping the man. He then covers an apartment fire and has the woman who is in the process of leaping out a window, pose, before she jumps. Later, he gets into position to photograph Nick Palmer when he knows that something horrific is about to occur, without warning him first.
2) The scene of Jack trying to photograph the lost and found dogs is funny.
3) David Glover’s absolute disdain for Jack being evident throughout the entire film, but coming to a head towards the end.
4) Lawrence Tierney even becoming fed up with Jack’s nonsense and coming up with a plan to eliminate him.
5) The absolute nerve Jack has when pursuing Nick’s wife, assuming that she couldn’t possibly love him, despite her constant proclamations that she is.
BEST QUOTE(S):
JACK: Decency and integrity are fancy words, but they never kept anybody well fed. And I’ve got quite an appetite.
JACK: Matrimony is a state I don’t recognize. It’s not love – it’s pots and pans and a conversational fistfight every Saturday night, with a paycheck as the purse.