Orson WELLES delivers a performance of Shakespearean stature and grandeur in a trite tale of a corrupt cop. His gross physical size expertly embodies the living incarnation of evil (& racism) that WELLES obviously intended it to.
The real problem with this film is that the performances are far better than the actual material and WELLES does not completely succeed in making all the elements cohere into a great Elizabethan style morality tale. Nevertheless, technically, the usual WELLES' style is prominent: Deep focus, crooked & low camera angles and two planes of action.
That said, there is much to enjoy here. A superb cast who seem absolutely determined to impress WELLES with their performances and sense that being in one of his films means being in the presence of greatness. (They are not far wrong.) Janet LEIGH is particularly fine; managing to convey the fear of her character in the presence of thugs plus her steely determination not to give in to them – as well as her deep love for her husband. Her incarceration in a lonely motel off the highway with a gynophobic hotel manager (a brilliant Dennis WEAVER) is an eerie presaging of what was to come for her in Hitchcock's Psycho. They manage to turn a mediocre novel into a superb film. This proves, once again, how difficult it can be to turn great books - that work as books - into movies, while average work can often seem so much better on the silver screen than it was on the page. This was also a time when Hollywood performers had oomph and personality that burst out of the screen at you.
WELLES fully explores the paradox of a mendacious cop who frames people for crimes that they actually did commit because he is determined to ensure that the guilty are punished – with little concern for actual justice. One alternately loathes and empathizes with the man for this view; making him seem oddly lovable.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
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