The Chase

This has a nice premise. It has some great bits, especially the car. The problem is in the motivations of a troubled mind. The dream sequence is a bit of cheating, in my eyes. It seems a little too easy to throw it in there and give the characters a second chance. Also, is the Cummings character just a little off his rocker as well. Anyway, there are wonderful camera angles, nice pacing, threat, psychosis and lots of other neat things that could have been just a little more compact. I love Peter Lorre's musings and victimization. He whines better than any actor in the history of film. He must know from one day to the next that his connection with the bad guy is going to cost him dearly somewhere down the line. Live for today, I guess.

A troubled ex-serviceman gets a job with a crime boss and his disturbed wife.

A 'find' for me and perhaps for other fans of noir. The 80-minutes are a perfect blend of dark visuals and surreal story. Frankly, when I think noir, I don't think Bob Cummings, an excellent light comedy actor, but hardly a figure of depth. But here, he essays the role of the troubled vet in subtle and persuasive ways. The nightclub scenes in Havana are particularly revealing, as the chaotic gaiety swirls around Scott (Cummings) and his spacey lover Lorna (Morgan)—a perfect metaphor for their circumstance.

A number of touches make this a memorable film. Casting Lorre as Gino was a coup, since his quietly devilish imp casts a background shadow over the proceedings. That's significant because Cochran, the alleged crime boss, comes across as a rather charming fellow even if he's behind dark deeds. Then there's that scene in the wine cellar, unlike any I've seen, and shrewdly abbreviated to catch the imagination. Also, catch Lorna's cameo framing through the porthole with shadows rising and falling over her face, as her nature itself migrates between light and dark. Add to the mix a speeding locomotive as the hand of fate, and a weirdly backseat driver that really is a backseat driver, and you've got an appropriately noirish race against time. And, of course, mustn't leave out the final scene so perfectly calibrated to end the film on a provocatively surreal note.

The movie's full of such imaginative twists and turns as penned by two of the best in the business, Woolrich and Yordan. I'm not sure why the movie's generally overlooked in the noir canon, perhaps because of Bob Cummings and his lightweight reputation, plus the lack of a true spider woman. Nonetheless, it's a provocative little gem, and one that prompts rare second thoughts long after the screen has gone dark.

I like the film - it builds suspense. It might not be the best dramatic film noir on the market, but it's not a bad one. I've seen far worse films that are put in the film noir category. The Chase is standard crime stuff but has a charm and story of it's own.

Chuck Scott is an a war vet and an honest man. He returned a wallet to a man that lost it - impressed, the man hires Chuck as his chauffeur. Over a little bit of time, the man's wife talks Chuck into taking her away from her abusive husband and when the husband finds out he goes after them. It is dreamy as Chuck Scott is on the run and really unsure if his mind has become "unhinged" as his doctor put it. Chuck Scott was a war vet and his doctor seems to feel he is a clear case of PTSD. How much of this is a dream, how much is real, is it all a dream or did it really happen?

I didn't have a problem with the pacing of this film - seemed fine to me.

7/10

As a director Arthur Ripley only made six feature films but nothing in that short career quite prepares you for the gem that was "The Chase", which he made in 1946 and which Philip Yordan adapted from a Cornell Woolrich story. It's certainly bizarre, as down-on-his-luck Robert Cummings, (why Robert Cummings I keep asking myself), finds a wallet belonging to gangster Steve Cochran who, when he returns it, hires him as a chauffeur and that's when his troubles really begin, particularly when Cochran's frightened wife, Michele Morgan, asks him to help her get away from her husband.

Everything about this film is surprising and I just don't mean the plot. Cochran's a thug but he lives in a kitsch mansion filled with marble statues and he likes to listen to classical music while Cumming's a veteran who is also a dab hand on the piano. Perhaps the biggest surprise is just how good both these actors are. Being a gangster Cochran naturally has to have a henchman and as always Peter Lorre is superb in the part. About midway through you might start to get an idea in which direction this very strange movie is going and you may even be right...but on the other hand. Needless to say, "The Chase" has all but disappeared but if any film deserves cult status this is it. Unmissable.

This is one of the most off-beat noirs you will ever see.It ranges from tension to turmoil in short bursts because it is, ah, different.You may have to run parts of it back to see if you missed something - but chances are you didn't. It's that kind of film.

The heavies are the best part of the cast. Steve Cochran may have done his best work here, and Peter Lorre does what he does best.Michele Morgan is lovely, and Bob Cummings seems as confused as the rest of us. I enjoy plot twists to a point, but the whole picture is a plot twist.

You may have to struggle with the continuity and the sound track, as the film was assembled piecemeal and the restoration is not as good as could be hoped. Against my better judgment I gave this a 7, although on balance it's not that good; it's just so - how should we say - bizarre.