Crimen organizado

Amusing, inexpensive, and predictable, this 50's gangster film's highlights are the snarling confrontations between Ryan and Top Cop Robert Mitchum. Ryan's cruelties are three-dimensional, but Mitchum seems to be thinking about something offscreen when he's not in a face-off with Ryan. Other secondary characterizations are quite vivid, especially by Ray Collins (a few years before "Touch of Evil") as a crooked political candidate, and William Talman, 50's TV stalwart, as the doomed rookie cop.

Entertaining film with politics, crime and corruption the main themes here.

Robert Mitchum plays a dedicated, righteous policeman who heads a unit of officers. He is as honest as 24 hours in a day. He takes pride in such officers as Bill Talman, a young cop gunned down in police headquarters by the usually evil Robert Ryan. Without the insanity of his earlier crime driven roles, Ryan comes across as the embodiment of evil.

Ray Collins steals the show as a worm of a prosecuting attorney up to his neck in corruption. It is interesting to note that both Collins and Talman went on to TV careers in "Perry Mason."

Lizabeth Scott, as a lounge singer, caught up in the mayhem, tries hard to please but she does not evoke the emotion needed for her role.

To say that the ending is justified is more than right.

This film reminds me a lot of an earlier film that paired Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan (CROSSFIRE), as both have very tough and gritty plots that are excellent examples of Film Noir. However, in this film instead of a plot involving anti-semitism, it's a good cop versus organized crime flick. Once again, Ryan is a scumbag and Mitchum is a decent and hard-as-nails cop bent on justice. A particular standout is the dialog between them--very snappy and pure Noir! I particularly liked the exchanges between them in the police station when they were cross-examining the cocky and unrepentant Ryan. And, since it is Noir, you know that there will be ample quantities of violence and testosterone. Give it a try--this is a seldom-mentioned classic.

A competent crime movie, enlivened by two strong lead performances from Mitchum and Ryan. The latter has the more interesting part as the gangster who ultimately finds himself friendless when those loyal to him decide he has become too much of a liability. Although the political machinations behind the scenes are dealt with more predominantly than many of the film's contemporaries, much of the satire is lost due to the 'other-worldliness' of the setting. Time and place are never specified, so we are more entangled in the personalities than the bigger moral implications.

A slight, but entertaining example of the genre.

A deep cast of well-known actors highlights this film noir effort. Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, William Talman, Ray Collins, Don Porter and William Conrad are all familiar names, especially to film noir buffs.

Ryan lifts this from an average classic-era crime film to above-average with a convincingly nasty character. He plays a no-compromise hood who lives by the code of violence. You have a problem? Violence, not brains, is the answer, according to Ryan's character "Nick Scanlon."

The film is fast-moving despite not having a lot of action scenes. All the characters are good, not just Ryan's, and the dialog is excellent in spots. The photography is nothing special, at least not as dramatic as most noirs, but it's a solid crime film, thanks to this cast. I would rate this a bit higher but I didn't care for the ending.