Hell Bound

In post-war L. A., Jordan makes a film about using a fake quarantine to steal surplus government drugs from a freighter. Wealthy investor Harry Quantro suggests doing it for real. Femme fatale Paula joins the caper.

I think that I missed half the hidden meaning and double entendre. Somebody needs to explain the two heads comments. One is for thinking but I don't know the other. Are they suggesting that she gives good head? What does putting her shoes on mean? What does half of this dialogue mean? It certainly keeps one on one's toes. This is a low budget B-movie. As such, they try to build atmosphere with a lot of empty industrial parks and dock locations. It fully uses the stacks of trolley cars. It's a lot of noir style, acting hard, and no money work-arounds. Why is the blind guy drinking milk? There are so many weird under-the-radar choices being made. I'm not saying that this is a classic but they are throwing everything at this and it's fun to see.

When Jordan (John Russell) comes to a health dept office as a phony pharmaceutical rep, he is announced as Mr. Natas. A reverse-spelled Satan works well for "Hell Bound".

In HELL BOUND, John Russell stars as Jordan, the brains behind a big cargo heist, in which a fortune in drugs is at stake.

Much of the film's running time involves the logistics and preparation for the crime, including the gathering of the crooks to pull it off.

All seems well, until the weakness, addictions, and folly of the team threaten to ruin the whole operation.

Russell is very convincing in his driven, downright wicked role. He's the black heart of the story, and delivers an unflinchingly ruthless performance. June Blair is also good as Paula, the woman that Jordan needs for his plot, as is Stuart Whitman as the man who falls in love with Paula, causing a moral dilemma.

This is a tense crime thriller with a wonderful chase-through-a-scrapyard finale...

He is the lead character here, an evil one for change, so delightful, delicious, a head master of a robbery, complex one involving a shipment of drug taken from a freight ship. It is an underrated film, small budget, totally forgotten now. It was aired on TCM and availabe on You Tube. There were batches like this one, in the more or less small Hollywood companies in the fifties, and even later. You have just to be lucky to find them. I highly prefer John Russell here than in Republic Pictures westerns or war dramas of the early fifties, or even the PALE RIDER crap, where he was the leader of a bunch of vicious killers who terrorized a mine town. A good little heist film to discover, but anyone will certainly prefer ASSAULT ON A QUEEN, in terms of robbery aboard a ship. Jaw dropping ending.

Taut and Tight Little "Heist" Movie with Heavy Film-Noir Influences, some Dire and Desperate Characters, Fine Acting, a Quick Violence-Prone Plot, and an Ending that is Visually and Viscerally Stunning.

Stone-Faced John Russell is in Full Sadistic "Bully" Mode as, He Recruits Men and Women with Varying Degrees of Desperation and Greed.

Russell Uses Physical Persecution Beating and Slapping People Around Non-Stop Preys on Drug-Addicts to "Mastermind" a Heist of Contraband (Drugs) Most always Referred to in the "Code-Enforcement" Days as "Stuff".

It's Sleazy, both in Personnel and Locations, The Docks, Burlesque, and Minimalist Rooming-Boards. Also Featuring a Pre-Tarantino "Foot-Fetish" Running Throughout.

June Blair (Playmate 1957), Shows a Bit More than Her Feet Here in the Form of Cleavage and Lingerie.

A Good Supporting Cast of...Stuart Whitman, Margo Woode, and Frank Fenton, among Others,

Make for a Solid, Disturbing, Cutting-Edge, Mid-50's Crime Noir that has High-Lights Galore for those that Like Their High-Lights Among the Low-Light Digs and Brutal Crime-Gang Domination Displays.

About as Violent and Nasty as it Gets in the Mid-50's.

The Ending Scene in the Rail-Yard is Unforgettable and Brings this Little Hidden-Gem to a Crashing and Crushing Conclusion.

A Must-See for Noir and Crime Buffs...For Others it's...

Worth a Watch.