George Raft is better remembered today for the roles he turned down while at Warners, but this is one he actually made, an excellent little tough melodrama reminiscent of They Drive By Night (apparently Bogart was meant to co-star but Raft put the kybosh on it). Actually come to think of it, it’s like most Warners melos, about two buddies and the dame that comes between them – apparently Tiger Shark was the first, of which this is pretty much a remake. Edgar G Robinson and Raft work on the powerlines – right on! – so they spend a lot of time clambering up in rain and getting electrocuted, working hard and playing hard. Marlene Dietrich is the daughter of a co-worker, who’s spent a year in the slammer. She marries Robinson but she really likes Raft – everyone’s well cast, Dietrich is fun, Robinson great, the support cast includes (of course) Alan Hale and Ward Bond, it was co-written by (of course) Jerry Wald, co-produced by (of course) Mark Hellinger, and directed by (of course) Raoul Walsh.
Raft is enjoyable (though when he talks about slapping Dietrich you can’t help thinking “Bogie would have played that better” – although Raft is more handsome so it is more believable Dietrich would go for him). John Flaus wrote this excellent analysis of Raft in his review of the film:
Raft was perfectly suited to the role of Johnny. Boyhood friend of hoodlums, gigolo (he worked the same beat as Rudolf Valentino), tango dancer (Fred Astaire said Raft was the best he had seen), and subsequent victim of the blacklist (on "moral", not political grounds), he was a narrow and inflexible actor, a rasping tightlipped steely icon whose definitive star quality was not stiffness (as he is often described) but stillness. With deftly judged lighting to catch the glitter in his eye he could do more with the slightest movement than anyone else in the business - male or female. And when the story called for rough stuff he could strike with the suddenness of a snake.
Well put, Flaus! They just don’t make tough films like this any more.
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