Crime Wave (1954)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Bernard Gordon (adaptation)
John Hawkins (story)
(more)

Release Date:

6 March 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Plot:

Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.

Plot Keywords:

Gas Station | Home Invasion | Escaped Convict | Interrogation | Lapd

Cast

Sterling Hayden	...	Det. Lt. Sims
Gene Nelson	...	Steve Lacey
Phyllis Kirk	...	Ellen Lacey
Ted de Corsia	...	'Doc' Penny
Charles Bronson	...	Ben Hastings (as Charles Buchinsky)
Jay Novello	...	Dr. Otto Hessler
Nedrick Young	...	Gat Morgan
James Bell	...	Daniel O'Keefe
Dub Taylor	...	Gus Snider (as Dubb Taylor)
Gayle Kellogg	...	Detective Kelly
Mack Chandler	...	Sully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Adrian	...	Hastings' girlfriend (uncredited)
Joe Bassett	...	Officer (uncredited)
Richard Benjamin	...	Extra (uncredited)
Charles Cane	...	Detective (uncredited)
Timothy Carey	...	Johnny Haslett (uncredited)
Tom Clarke	...	Salvation Army Singer (uncredited)
Dennis Dengate	...	Officer (uncredited)
Eileen Elliott	...	Fourth Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Fritz Feld	...	Man with Bandaged Head (uncredited)
Diane Fortier	...	First Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Jim Hayward	...	Zenner (uncredited)
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Second Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Bank Guard (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Sidewalk Extra (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Left, a Suspect (uncredited)
Faith Kruger	...	Salvation Army Singer (uncredited)
Lyle Latell	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Harry Lauter	...	Roadblock Officer (uncredited)
Ruth Lee	...	Third Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Richard Lightner	...	Mark (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Detective (uncredited)
Mary Newton	...	Mrs. O'Keefe (uncredited)
Shirley O'Hara	...	Girl with Bandaged Man (uncredited)
John Pickard	...	Information Officer (uncredited)
Fred Roby	...	Officer (uncredited)
George Ross	...	Officer (uncredited)
Ted Ryan	...	Janitor (uncredited)
Sandy Sanders	...	Officer (uncredited)
John Veitch	...	Information Officer (uncredited)
Shirley Whitney	...	Girl (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson	...	Beer Drinker at Bar (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Parolee (uncredited)
Jack Woody	...	Stoolie (uncredited)
Hank Worden	...	Sweeney - Airport Maintenance Manager (uncredited)

Directed by
André De Toth

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bernard Gordon		adaptation
John Hawkins		story "Criminals Mark"
Ward Hawkins		story "Criminals Mark"
Crane Wilbur		writer
Richard Wormser		adaptation

Produced by
Bryan Foy	....	producer

Original Music by
David Buttolph

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon

Film Editing by
Thomas Reilly

Art Direction by
Stanley Fleischer

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James McMahon	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Moss Mabry	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1954) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vidéo (2007) (France) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The City Is Dark (UK)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1953) | USA:Approved (PCA #16297) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

A few seconds of footage in Crime Wave are borrowed from _Deadly Is The Female (1950)_. When suspects are rounded up following the attack on the gas station, we see police cars stopping by the entrance of a police station and letting out their suspects. This piece of footage can be seen in Deadly Is The Female, just after the payroll holdup, when police launch their dragnet.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nedrick Young (as Gat Morgan) is first shot, he grabs his chest by the right pectoral. When he grabs his wound later, it has migrated to the lower center abdomen.

Quotes:

'Doc' Penny: Think about that wife of yours, Steve. You can't afford to make any mistakes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Decoy: A Map to Nowhere (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bringing in the Sheaves

Taut little thriller

Short film that doesn't waste a moment. Life is short and hard in this film. Make one mistake and you're marked for life, at least that seems to be Sterling Hayden's motto. Gene Nelson gives a good performance as a man haunted by his past. Steve Lacey is so scarred by his past that it runs his current life, this eventually leads him into trouble. Andre De Toth keeps most of the film in the shadows and only a few scenes take place during the day. Even the climatic robbery is shot in the dark. The only false note is that Hayden's character doesn't act the same throughout the movie. I found the movie to be pretty brutal for the time and Charles Bronson did a good job portraying most of the brutality. All in all, a worthy entry in the film noir genre.