Dead Reckoning (1947)

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Gerald Drayson Adams (story) and
Sidney Biddell (story) ...

Release Date:

16 January 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He Doesn't Trust Anyone . . . especially Women !

Plot:

A soldier runs away rather than receive the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate, and love and death soon follow.

Plot Keywords:

Dead Body In Room | Safecracker | Bartender | Narration | Roulette

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Capt. 'Rip' Murdock
Lizabeth Scott	...	'Dusty' Chandler
Morris Carnovsky	...	Martinelli
Charles Cane	...	Lt. Kincaid
William Prince	...	Sgt. Johnny Drake
Marvin Miller	...	Krause
Wallace Ford	...	McGee
James Bell	...	Father Logan
George Chandler	...	Louis Ord

Also Known As:

John Cromwell's Dead Reckoning (UK) (complete title) (USA) (copyright title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #11959) | Finland:(Banned) (1947) | Norway:16 (1947) | Finland:K-16 (1948) | Australia:PG | UK:U | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Grand Central Station, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the train scene, after they discover that Drake is to receive the Medal of Honor, Murdock quips that maybe the president will let Drake "sit on top of his piano". This is a reference to a then-scandalous photo of Harry Truman playing piano with a leggy blonde on top that was taken at the National Press Club in 1945. The blonde was Lauren Bacall.

Goofs:

Continuity: Inside the hotel room, after the waiter goes out carrying the folding table, Murdock takes the cigarette from his mouth with his left hand. The next shot shows him holding the cigarette with his right hand.

Quotes:

Captain Warren 'Rip' Murdock: [referring to two war souvenir hand grenades] If I were you, I'd turn 'em in to Army Ordanance. You start coughin' too hard with one of them in your hand, there'll be nothing left but the gold in your teeth... if it don't melt!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Soundtrack:

EITHER IT'S LOVE OR IT ISN'T

Unoriginal but enjoyable noir

This movie, while certainly not the best film noir, certainly would be an ideal introduction to the genre, in large part because of its blatant banality. It does not even attempt to elaborate or subvert any of the genre's themes, so in that sense is ideal for someone wanting to get a feel of a film noir. All of the noir ingredients are there: man returning from war, femme fatale, flashback narrative, gambling, seedy clubs, suspicion, paranoia, etc. I've never seen Lizabeth Scott in anything else so can't really comment on her, but my goodness she seems to be trying to do her best Lauren Bacall impression. Certainly she's no Bacall, Lake, Gardner or even Turner, but is passable in her performance as the femme fatale. The plot is more complicated than someone used to contemporary movies may expect, and one certainly needs to pay a lot of attention to it. That being said, it can work in the same way as 'The Big Sleep' (a much superior film) if one disregards the plot and just soaks in the atmosphere. The city at night shots at the movie's beginning are incredible, probably the photographic highlight of the entire movie. I've read criticism about the direction and lighting in the sense that it switches between light and dark. I think that it is supposed to work in the same way that a movie such as 'Mildred Pierce' works in the sense that the juxtaposition between light and dark represents the character's state of mind. So in a scene where Bogie is content with Scott, the colors are extremely light, representing his state of mind. More suspicious scenes are thereby darker. I don't know, just a theory, and even if this was the director's intention its debatable as to whether its effectively achieved.

All in all, an enjoyable noir, certainly recommended for fans of the genre, just don't expect any originality.