In director Fritz Lang’s (M) classic film noir, good cop Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford, GILDA) sets out to take down a crime syndicate, which controls the police department. The film begins with the suicide of a police officer on the pay roll of crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby, THE SHAGGY DOG). The officer wrote a letter that spills the beans on the whole affair, which the officer’s wife Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE) uses to get herself on the pay roll.
Bannion is assigned the case and when he starts poking around he gets the hunch that the whole business smells foul. Bannion talks with the police officer’s mistress Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green, THEM!), which leads to her death. As Bannion pries deeper, more people get hurt, including his beloved wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando, MOMMIE DEAREST) and Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame, OKLAHOMA!), the ditzy girlfriend of Lagana’s muscle Vince Stone (Lee Marvin, DIRTY DOZEN).
Bannion is a noble cop and his motives are just, but his dogged determination is naïve and causes a lot of pain. But there’s something about Bannion that is dark and ultimately sympathetic. Shades of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry can be seen in the character. I view him as a cop whose ideals have been compromised by reality. He’s at the breaking point. He’s angry, bitter and sardonic. The system sucks and he’s feed up with it, but down deep in his core he holds onto the naivety that if you do the right thing you’ll be fine. It could also be read that Bannion is a bit unconsciously passive-aggressive, desperately wanting to hold onto his soul, but doesn’t care if he uses the lost souls around him to get what he wants. To say the least, the character is complex and can be read is various ways.
Texturing the film is the wonderful performances by Grahame and Marvin. The classic coffee scene will not be forgotten once it’s seen. The dialogue is marvelous. Ford’s droll sarcasm is perfect and adds so much to his character. Lang keeps the pace crisp and the mood is pitched perfectly. You truly understand Bannion’s frustration, his lose and what he feels is right. Whether it all turns out perfectly you’ll have to watch and judge for yourself.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
