Gunman in the Streets

Director Frank Tuttle, to me better known for spilling the beans on Jules Dassin and other fellow Americans to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), masterminded by Senator McCarthy, directs rather inconsistently this 1950 movie set in France, and with an obviously French atmosphere.

Inevitably, as happened to most baddies in French flicks of the time, Dane Clark pays the ultimate price for breaking from jail and committing all manner of crime - but, before then, he meets up with former lover Denise, superbly played by Simone Signoret, one of the truly greatest actresses ever to grace any screen and at the peak of her unique beauty in 1950, and he is selfish enough to want her to accompany him in his flight to another country.

The chiaroscuro photography renders the film obsessively dark, giving it a pessimistic mood, and the fact that the main leads believe in the stars and their tragic omens, does not portend well.

Neither does film's 90 minutes, which seem far longer.

Signoret and Clark save GUNMAN to some extent, but I doubt I will ever sit through it again.

Based on other reviews I was looking forward to seeing this "lost" film. It was disappointing. The plot was simplistic even by B movie standards. The main protagonist Eddy Roback is in no way romanticized, there is not much character development or background or back-story which means he is just a vicious thug. The director built tension well; there were some interesting scenes such as the scene in the dept store where he temporarily abducts a kid for cover, adding sociopath to this thugs character. Dane Clark added little more than brooding and visceral reaction with minimal dialogue, he brought little to this role, definitely not a leading Man. This is a unique film noir in that its set in Paris in English but that's about the only reason to watch this movie.

The best thing about this film is the music by Joe Hajos, a name I've never seen before in any film, but his music adds the perfect touch to this very French story of a desperate fugitive, an American deserter in Paris turned into a gangster and murderer, and although the music isn't French, it strikes the right tone and adds French genuineness to the whole film by providing the right atmosphere. The problem here is the inextricability of Simone Signoret's attachment to the desperado, she actually does everything wrong and constantly acts against all common sense, while you would think a woman should think more of herself and at least of taking care of herself, while she persistently does the opposite. Is Dane Clark then such a charming and irresistible gangster that it would be worth sacrificing herself for him? It does not make sense. Simone Signoret was expert at such dubious roles and made them her specialty. Dane Clark is nothing but a brutal reckless hoodlum of a bad soldier turned the worst kind of gangster, who will kill anyone who does not serve him without flinching. Robert Duke as the other American, a neutral journalist on the watch for a good story, on the other hand is his opposite, quite frank and honest, and he loves her with all the sincerity she deserves, and yet she prefers the brutal villain.

This is the question mark of the film, while the music saves it and at least adds to its definite character as a supreme and very French noir.

Unless the initial impact of a movie, which opens with a full-on action packed sequence is maintained, it soon begins to sag like an old, discarded mattress left out in the rain. This is especially pertinent when, as on this occasion, the plot is fairly simplistic.

Following an ultra close range shoot out, U. S. Army deserter, robber and supreme opportunist, Dane Clark escapes from a police van and puts his gotta-get-to-Belgium.... PRONTO!, plan into action, staying one step ahead of the cops, with the help of ex-lover, Simone Signoret and man of many faces, Michel Andre.

For much of the next hour, the movie is hamstrung by some stiff, stilted acting and workmanlike dialogue, punctuated by the not for the squeamish, removal of a bullet from Clark's shoulder, who insists on a record from the jukebox to drown his agonized whelps 'n' yelps. This was 1950. Decades later, Blood Sweat and Tears or Bullet Lavolta would have provided a fitting backdrop to his painful ordeal.

Set in Paris, it looks French and radiates the vibe of European cinema. With director, Frank (This Gun for Hire) Tuttle on board as 'Gunman' gathers momentum and spews out some sharper lines, it increasingly takes on the complexion of American noir. Simone Signoret is a dazzling temptress, leaving the rather anonymous Clark choking on her exhaust fumes, in the on-screen charisma stakes. The film's dual personality is further underlined by the existence of 'Le Traque', an alternative language version, directed by Borys Lewin, released the same year.

It's certainly an intriguing and unusual find. A lost gem? Not quite. 'Gunman' never really comes together into a cohesive, fully realized work, remaining a curious objet d'art, an oddity, a strangely off kilter artefact from the vintage noir era.

American expatriates actor Dane Clark and director Frank Tuttle shot this gripping noir film which does not for one split second let up in the tension department. From the second American criminal Clark escapes police custody and becomes a fugitive you're held to your seats be it the theater or your living room couch.

Unlike films where the man on the run is romanticized, not so in Gunman In The Streets. Clark is one dangerous man, at one point when he's trapped in a department store in Paris, he grabs up a small boy and uses him to shield his identity, the gendarmes not thinking that their quarry would have a child. The tension is pretty rough there as you wonder if someone will recognize Clark and bullets start flying.

Simone Signoret plays the gangster's moll as tough in France as they are in America. She's moved on to another American, newspaper reporter Robert Duke. Duke loves Simone, but loves a story more as he agrees to help Clark escape. In the end Simone can't stay away from Clark.

Two more roles of note, Fernand Gravey plays the determined police inspector pulling out all the stops to get Clark and Michel Andre who plays a part Peter Lorre would have had here on this side of the pond, the man looking to sell out all.

Gunman In The Streets is a gripping noir thriller and the climax very much similar to White Heat.