George Raft seemingly attempting to channel Alan Ladd, as a leather jacket wearing flyer in China after World War two working for the black market. I'm a sucker for films about American pilots in the third world on the back lot, being anti heroes, hanging out in nightclubs and being tough.
For the most part this is fun - the China setting is exotic, and there's fun backlot settings (night clubs, dingy attics). June Havoc has a high old time as a femme fetale with slinky gowns and an impressive office. George Raft is very awkward and stiff and starting to look his age but it's still fun to see George Raft in this sort of movie. Helena Carter is on hand as a good girl working with orphans who falls for Raft - she's great value, Carter, watch how her eyes never leave Raft - she's alive, interested, alert.
The support cast includes reliables like Dan Seymour and Phil Ahn.
The film is almost single handedly sunk however by a subplot involving Tom Tully as this pompous self righteous journalist who wants to expose the black market. He's an old mate of Raft and Raft spends all this time hanging around him. Tully reels off all this stuff about how this is worse than prohibition and people are starving which is true just dull. Then he figures out Raft is involved and carries on like a lover. This plot should have been carried by Carter, who doesn't get enough screen time. I didn't mind the character of a journalist who is killed... that's a stock character... but he needed to be less self righteous given less screen time and killed earlier. Says I anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment