His Kind of Woman (1951)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Farrow
(more)

Writers:

Frank Fenton (written by) and
Jack Leonard (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

29 August 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

They were two of a kind ! ...and bound to meet, but neither of them knew what such a meeting would mean!

Plot:

A deported gangster's plan to re-enter the USA involves skulduggery at a Mexican resort, and gambler Dan Milner is caught in the middle.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Gangster | Shooting | Punched In The Face | Doublecross

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Dan Milner
Jane Russell	...	Lenore Brent
Vincent Price	...	Mark Cardigan
Tim Holt	...	Bill Lusk
Charles McGraw	...	Thompson / Narrator
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Helen Cardigan
Raymond Burr	...	Nick Ferraro
Leslie Banning	...	Jennie Stone (as Leslye Banning)
Jim Backus	...	Myron Winton
Philip Van Zandt	...	Jose Morro
John Mylong	...	Martin Krafft
Carleton G. Young	...	Gerald Hobson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert J. Wilke	...	Nick Ferraro (scenes deleted)
Dorothy Abbott	...	Card player (uncredited)
Tol Avery	...	Fat hoodlum (uncredited)
Richard Bergren	...	Milton Stone (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Lodge bartender (uncredited)
Mary Brewer	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Peter Brocco	...	Thompson's first henchman (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Barkeeper in Nogales (uncredited)
Gwen Caldwell	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Anthony Caruso	...	Tony (uncredited)
Robert Cornthwaite	...	Hernandez (uncredited)
Oliver Cross	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
John Daheim	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Jim Davies	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Daniel De Laurentis	...	Mexican boy in Nogales) (uncredited)
King Donovan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Marietta Elliott	...	Redhead (uncredited)
Paul Fierro	...	Charles (uncredited)
Joel Fluellen	...	Sam (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Corley (uncredited)
Barbara Freking	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Gerry Ganzer	...	Countess (uncredited)
Ralph Gomez	...	Mexican foreman (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Joseph Granby	...	Arnold (uncredited)
Henry Guttman	...	Man (uncredited)
Stacy Harris	...	Harry (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Customer (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Old-timer lodge guest (uncredited)
Charles Horvath	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Don House	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Jerry James	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Geraldine Jordan	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
William Justine	...	Gyppo (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Thompson's henchman #2 (uncredited)
Alberto Morin	...	Lt. Rodriguez (uncredited)
Billy Nelson	...	Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Edwin Rand	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Bob Rose	...	Corley's servant (uncredited)
John Sheehan	...	Guitarist (uncredited)
Mickey Simpson	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Ken Terrell	...	Gunman (uncredited)
Mamie Van Doren	...	Lodge guest at bar (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Ernö Verebes	...	Esteban (uncredited)
Dan White	...	Tex Kearns (uncredited)
Joy Windsor	...	Lodge guest (uncredited)
Bud Wolfe	...	Seaman (uncredited)
Sally Yarnell	...	Pianist (uncredited)
Maria Sen Young	...	Swaying waitress (uncredited)

Directed by
John Farrow
Richard Fleischer		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Frank Fenton		(written by) and
Jack Leonard		(written by)
Gerald Drayson Adams		story (uncredited)
Earl Felton		uncredited
Richard Fleischer		uncredited
Howard Hughes		uncredited

Produced by
Robert Sparks	....	producer
Robert Fellows	....	producer (uncredited)
Howard Hughes	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Leigh Harline

Cinematography by
Harry J. Wild		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frederic Knudtson
Eda Warren

Production Design by
J. McMillan Johnson

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Ross Dowd
Darrell Silvera

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Ruman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
John E. Tribby	....	sound (as John Tribby)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Howard Greer	....	gowns: Miss Russell

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Howard Hughes	....	presenter
Boyd Cabeen	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Carmen Cabeen	....	stand-in: Jane Russell (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Smiler with a Gun (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #14533) | Sweden:(Banned) (1951-1965)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

John Farrow finished the film, but Howard Hughes brought in Richard Fleischer to add a few shots (Hughes himself co-wrote the ending with Fleischer). Fleischer ended up reshooting the entire film.

Goofs:

Continuity: One of the three whip marks on Milner's back is missing when he escapes his captors and backs away down the ship's corridor.

Quotes:

Jose Morro: She is beautiful as well as interesting, isn't she?
Dan Milner: She's beautiful - that's always interesting.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Five Little Miles From San Berdoo

Fabulous Tongue-in-Cheek Film Adventure!

HIS KIND OF WOMAN, the first of two pairings of RKO's resident 'tough guy', Robert Mitchum, and it's major sex symbol, Jane Russell (the near-classic MACAO would follow, a year later), is such a wonderful, convoluted 'film noir' spoof that it is amazing that it has never appeared on video. Broadly funny, and a more than a bit surreal, the tale of down-and-out gambler Mitchum 'hired' to travel to a remote Mexican resort to provide a 'body' so that a notorious gangster (Raymond Burr, sleekly villainous) can feign his death and return to the U.S., is action-packed, and has been described as "Bogie and Bacall on Steroids'!

A great deal of the success of the John Farrow-directed film is due to the inspired casting of Vincent Price as a ham actor who gets to 'live out' his celluloid life, aiding Mitchum. Price quotes Shakespeare, critiques his performance, and is amazed by his own heroics, and he has never been funnier, on screen.

An excellent supporting cast, including Tim Holt, Charles McGraw, Marjorie Reynolds, Paul Frees (the famous Hollywood 'voice' actor, actually seen, for a change), and Jim Backus contribute to the on screen mayhem, and Russell sings "Five Little Miles From San Berdoo", one of her more memorable 50s numbers.

From the opening scene, as Burr, exiled in Italy, listens to a short-wave radio broadcast of his successful career as an American crime kingpin ("Where is my money?" he demands, as an estimate of his revenue is quoted), to the brawling climax with Mitchum, aboard his yacht, as Price attempts a rescue, HIS KIND OF WOMAN is pure escapism, at it's best.

Here's hoping that a DVD edition may soon be released!