Dragged Into My Tomb
Mirage (1965)
directed by Edward Dmytryk
rating: 2 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
It's interesting how obvious an A-list thriller disguised as a B-list noir can look. The first clue is running time; anything over 90 minutes and you know the script got one too many passes from one too many theater men. If it stars Gregory Peck you can bet that he'll be tiresome by the end of it and that he didn't commit the crime he's going to spend most of the film accused of. There's something too clean about the cinematography and nothing petty or cheap enough in the characters' motivations.
Insurance scams are such great fodder for murders because it's so easy to believe that this time, the little lie might work. But an organization intent on world peace? A diabolical Major who wants better leverage for his nuclear weapons? That just doesn't fit the early rhythm of the movie, with Gregory Peck descending 27 flights of stairs in a blackout, then riding a subway in the dark. Lines and lines: a web. Walter Matthau shows up to deduce the source of Peck's "unconscious amnesia" and suddenly it's a buddy comedy. But oh, third acts can be deadly. The best movies shouldn't/don't even have them.
directed by Edward Dmytryk
rating: 2 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
It's interesting how obvious an A-list thriller disguised as a B-list noir can look. The first clue is running time; anything over 90 minutes and you know the script got one too many passes from one too many theater men. If it stars Gregory Peck you can bet that he'll be tiresome by the end of it and that he didn't commit the crime he's going to spend most of the film accused of. There's something too clean about the cinematography and nothing petty or cheap enough in the characters' motivations.
Insurance scams are such great fodder for murders because it's so easy to believe that this time, the little lie might work. But an organization intent on world peace? A diabolical Major who wants better leverage for his nuclear weapons? That just doesn't fit the early rhythm of the movie, with Gregory Peck descending 27 flights of stairs in a blackout, then riding a subway in the dark. Lines and lines: a web. Walter Matthau shows up to deduce the source of Peck's "unconscious amnesia" and suddenly it's a buddy comedy. But oh, third acts can be deadly. The best movies shouldn't/don't even have them.
posted by NPK at 6:26 AM
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