Der Mann in der Gruft

I had an old fuzzy copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy of a TV broadcast of this 1956 crime-noir B programmer, but now that there's a new letter-boxed DVD out, I threw the old tape away and can finally enjoy this film for what it is: a solid "b" crime film with good performances, good pacing, and great Los Angeles location photography. The under-rated William Campbell plays an average guy working as a locksmith, who is approached by a gangster who wants to break into a safe deposit box. Campbell, like most people probably, initially tries to be polite, but turns down the offer. Gangsters don't like being turned down, so one can imagine where the plot goes. There's a woman involved, a shady lawyer, another gangster who has gone legit, Mike Mazurki as an ex-boxer turned enforcer, and the comedy of Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (a regular in Batjac Productions of this era). The main female role is played (well) by Karen Sharpe, who hails from here in San Antonio! Anita Ekberg is in a small role as the girlfriend of James Seay's character, the owner of the safe deposit box. Ekberg is not really given much to do. The film, an early directorial credit of Andrew V. McLaglen. legendary director of many classic westerns and action films, is very well-paced and has amazing location photography of 1950's Los Angeles. A few key scenes take place in a bowling alley, actually Art Linkletter's La Cienega Lanes, which is of great documentary value in itself. Wait until you see the climax inside the bowling alley! This probably deserves a "7" rating, but I'll give it one star more for the nice widescreen transfer on the DVD and the great location photography. This plays a lot like an Allied Artists low-budget 50's crime film, and for me that is a high compliment. Check it out...

A tough choice for nice-guy assistant locksmith Tommy Dancer: to continue plodding on with his $80/week, go-nowhere job, OR to give in to the demands of petty hood Willis Trent, and get paid $5,000 for using his skills to break into the safety-deposit box of top-dog criminal De Camp and steal $200,000. This ethical conundrum becomes a no-brainer, however, when Trent turns the screws by kidnapping and threatening Tommy's newest girlfriend, Betty Turner. Anyway, that's the setup for Andrew V. McLaglen's "Man in the Vault," a compact little film noir from 1956 that, despite its "B movie" status--and despite the "Maltin Film Guide"'s assertion that it is "drab" and only deserving of one of its lowest ratings--still offers much. Though surely made on the cheap, the film looks just fine, and features at least two highly suspenseful sequences: the heist that Tommy carries out inside a crowded bank, and a nighttime game of cat and mouse between Tommy and one of Trent's thugs inside a deserted bowling alley. Plus, with a running time of only 73 minutes, the picture is lean and fast moving, with little in the way of flab (excepting, perhaps, that three-minute song "Let the Chips Fall Where They May," warbled by a chantootsie early on at Trent's house party).

And then there is the film's single best element: a surprisingly excellent performance by William Campbell as Tommy Dancer, who does indeed get to "dance" all over L.A. while embroiled in this film's shenanigans. Campbell, who is perhaps best known for his appearances in three "Star Trek" episodes (as Trelane in "The Squire of Gothos" and the wimpiest Klingon ever, Koloth, in "The Trouble With Tribbles," both from the original series, and then toughening up Koloth considerably, many years later, in "Deep Space 9"'s "Blood Oath"), is immensely likable and sympathetic here. The late actor (he passed away on 4/28/11, at the age of 84) easily carries this film. Karen Sharpe (not to be confused with Karen Steele, as I did going in) is cute and appealing as Betty, Berry Kroeger is memorable as the smarmy Trent, and former heavyweight wrestler Mike Mazurki adds his always welcome, menacing presence. Oh...how could I forget the main reason for my rental of this film in the first place: Anita Ekberg, Miss Sweden 1951, playing the part of De Camp's moll, Flo Brant? Sadly, Anita is only given perhaps 10 minutes of screen time in all to make an impression, but looks so stunning that, yes, an impression is most certainly made. Anita would have to wait another four years before really making the world sit up and take notice, in 1960's "La Dolce Vita," but is still fairly riveting here, despite her small part. Throw in some nice location photography of 1950s Los Angeles (including the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Blvd., replete with a Rexall Drugstore!), some well-done, naturalistic dialogue, efficient direction from McLaglen and a highly satisfactory denouement and you've got a little film that's a lot more than merely "drab"!

Tommy Dancer is a locksmith whose skills do not go unnoticed by mobster Willis Trent. Trent wants Tommy to get into the safe deposit box of a rival mobster. Tommy refuses, despite being offered $5000 and later being roughed up by one of Trents goons. Tommy agrees when he his tipped off by one Trents men that the box contains $200,000 in cash. Tommy decides to go along with the plan, and keep the 200 grand for himself and run off with Trents moll, whom he has fallen in love with.

MAN IN THE VAULT is standard low budget crime thriller from the period made enjoyable by the presence of Berry Kroeger, Paul Fix and Mike Marsurki. William Campbell gives a good performance as Tommy. There are some good moments of suspense, but things get a bit confusing toward the end.

John Wayne's Batjac Productions produced this average and cheap potboiler noir and the cast and credits look like they could have come from a Wayne film. With Andrew McLaglen directing, Burt Kennedy doing the script and William Clothier behind the camera it sure looks like a Wayne western.

But it's a modern noir film that Batjac has given us. I think John Wayne was trying to launch William Campbell's career with a lead and while Campbell had a good career, he sure never became box office.

Campbell plays a locksmith who Berry Kroeger wants to employ to make a duplicate key for a safety deposit box that contains $200,000.00 in cash. Kroeger is one ruthless dude and has many ways of persuasion including capturing and threatening to torture Karen Sharpe who Campbell has recently been seeing. He's got Mike Mazurki for the rough stuff on his payroll.

It's a real pickle Campbell is in, but he's a plucky soul

A lot of money sure wasn't spent on this given the folks associated with this one. All I can say is that in this average noir film, a whole lot of people did this one as a favor to the Duke.

The Dukes' production company Batjac did occasionally turn out films that didn't star the American icon, but they were typically low budget affairs. William Campbell, an actor who bounced back and forth between A and B films throughout the 50s and 60s, stars as Tommy Dancer, an average guy earning meagre wages as a locksmith. But a two-bit hoodlum named Willis Trent (Berry Kroeger) wants to hire Tommy for a job: make a set of keys for a safety deposit box that contains a substantial payday. Tommy refuses at first - he's no angel, but he's a basically good man - but the bad guys will naturally figure out ways to manipulate him into doing the job.

While Leonard Maltins' paperback review guide has always dismissed this one, in truth it's a fairly entertaining crime / noir programmer with some good acting. Campbell is okay, but is outshone by top character actors like Kroeger, Mike Mazurki (cast to type as Trents' thug), Paul Fix, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and James Seay. It also features very nice eye candy in the form of the lovely Karen Sharpe, who plays Tommy's love interest, and delectable Anita Ekberg, the mistress of big time mob boss Seay. A lady named Vivianne Lloyd gets fairly prominent billing, but her main purpose is to take a few minutes belting out the number "Let the Chips Fall Where They May".

"Man in the Vault" is given competent guidance by director Andrew V. McLaglen, who subsequently graduated to bigger movies, a number of them with The Duke. A truly special film it's not, but it entertains reasonably for a trim 74 minutes, and features two standout suspense sequences: one, inside a bank vault, where Tommy doesn't stand much chance of not being witnessed, and two, inside a bowling alley where Tommy is pursued by an unseen assailant.

Co-star Gonzalez had earlier appeared on TV's 'You Bet Your Life', which is where The Duke had first noticed him. This little factoid is echoed as part of the movies' story (scripted by future director Burt Kennedy, based on a novel by Frank Gruber).

Seven out of 10.