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This independent production which was fortunate enough to have 20th Century Fox pick it up for distribution has three leads that you've never heard of in Don Castle, Peggy Knudsen, and Patricia Knight. But the supporting cast is chock full of familiar character players who really make Roses Are Red work.

Castle plays the double role of a newly elected District Attorney and a lookalike crook hired by the big mob boss Edward Keane to impersonate the DA. Overseeing the operation is crooked homicide cop Joe Sawyer.

It was a really good plan and Keane though in a wheelchair hasn't lost any brain power being paralyzed. Only it doesn't quite work out for those who put it together. Knudsen who is a reporter and girlfriend of the DA and Knight who is the wife of the impersonator play key roles in putting Keane and his crooks.

With some name leads and better production values Roses Are Red would be far better known. But with Charles Lane as Keane's lawyer, Douglas Fowley as a would be stoolie, Charles McGraw and Jeff Chandler as some of Keane's muscle and James Arness as an honest cop you can't go wrong with this film.

As the credits rolled, I noticed that this cheap film managed to have a rather interesting supporting cast. The likes of James Arness, Joe Sawyer, Jeff Chandler, Charles McGrawm Paul Guilfoyle and Charles Lane all appear in this movie--several of these before they went onto become stars.

The plot of "Roses Are Red" is dumb. It all rests on the clichéd idea that there are two identical strangers--one a crusading District Attorney and the other a crook! When you see this in the film, resist the urge to stop watching. That's because despite this, the filmmakers and actors did a great job in carrying off this silly idea. As far as the actors go, I really liked Joe Sawyer in his slimy cop role but no-name actor Don Castle also deserves kudos for being able to pull off the dual roles as the DA/crook. I won't tell you what happens next--it would spoil the fun--and this film noir movie is fun. If you don't believe me, get a load of some of the snappy dialog:

"No matter how you slice her, she can't be any deader!"

(after the cops look through a murder victim's purse and count her money--"...looks like her next ride will be on the city..."

Compact, tough little noir with Don Castle playing a dual role as the new D.A. and a criminal who impersonates him. Complications ensue when the good guy then has to impersonate the bad guy -- but the bad guy's wife shows up. Joe Sawyer is effective playing against his normal type as a corrupt cop. Edward Keane plays the main bad guy, wheelchair-bound but still able to be dastardly. Good to see Jeff Chandler (on the bad side) and James Arness (on the good side) in small but effective roles. It moves fast, the story's not bad and the cast acquits itself well. This one's a rarity that I saw at the American Cinematheque film noir festival. Very much worth your time.

Predictable Picture with some Fun and a Few Good Scenes Highlight this Minor Movie that Suffers from a Small Room Template.

Check-Out the Machinations of Actor Placements Within the Frame of a Cramped Environment.

It's Humorous to See a Grouping of Characters Shoehorned Like a Jigsaw Puzzle Into the Card-Board Sets.

Virtually On-Top of One-Another with Heads Dangling Above and Along-Side of One Another. It's a Hoot.

It's All Familiar Stuff About a Look-Alike Crook Replacing a District Attorney to do the Bidding of a Crime-Boss.

This Particular Mr. Big is a Smooth Talking Wheel-Chair Bound (Edward Keane) who Seems about as Intimidating as one of His Aquarium Fish.

The Wheel-Chair, by the way, Comes in Handy when the Police Move In.

Part of the Fun is Watching the Switcheroo.

Keeping it All Straight and Identifying just Who is the DA Now.

You Can Bet One of the Girl-Friend Dames will Be Able to Tell by a Smoocheroo.

More Fun can be Had Spotting Noir Regular Charles McGraw's Gravely Voice Bullying People, Jeff Chandler as a Giant Blondie Named "Knuckles", and James Arness as a Cop.

Slightly Above Average in the Low-Low Budget Sphere of B-Noirs.

More Airy than Most with a Bouncy, Side-Glance Look, and an Almost Tongue-in-Cheek Patina.

Worth a Watch.

If all cops and bad guy movies were this good I could be just fine with that. It's not the best film but if this was the standard I could see a decent movie evry night.