The Last Crooked Mile

Donaid Barry (Tom) plays a private detective who sets out to discover where the hidden loot from the recent Jarvis gang robbery is hidden. He's after a percentage of the reward for finding it and gets the OK from police to help in the search. This takes him to a fairground where the original car that was used in the Jarvis robbery is being used as a showpiece. However, it is also attracting interest from other parties.

This film has a good cast and starts well. It hooks you in with the Jarvis gang robbery and we follow the getaway car as it is chased through the country until disaster strikes. The criminal gang are all very convincing. But they don't last long! The rest of the cast are all good - I personally like gangster Sheldon Leonard ('Wires' MacGuire) and I felt sorry for bimbo-babe Adele Mara (Bonnie) who is always left standing alone somewhere while Barry shoots off on another task. She provides the comedy factor along with some of the dialogue. It's snappy and funny throughout. Donald Barry comes across as a James Cagney type character and he is just on the right side of annoying - he's likable and carries the film but its a fine line that he is treading.

There is a lot of action in this short film and the pace and the dialogue make it an entertaining experience. You may guess where the money is hidden but there is a twist in the story that you may not expect.

Ann Savage will forever be known as the vulturous woman in Ulmer's masterpiece DETOUR. Alas, many other films in her career have not had comparable longevity. This little programmer is one of the many forgotten little baubles that used to dot TV land back in the days before all those rotten Infomercials took over late night viewing. Despite the superb cast of B movie stalwarts, this generic little programmer is nonetheless noteworthy for trying to cram a lot of plot in the confines of an hour, so much so that it appears incoherent. It tries to do everything and ends up not doing much of anything. It's diverting enough because of the haywire plot; you never know where this is going. But see it for Ann Savage.

...It has more plot holes than a piece of Swiss cheese.

The film opens on a bank robbery and a shoot out between the robbers and bank guards. The gang took three hundred thousand dollars whose serial numbers were not listed, so there is no way to trace the stolen money.

The gang has thought of everything - they switch cars, hide the loot in an unusual place on the new car, and take off. But the bank president mentions something unusual about one of the robbers - he has polished well manicured nails - and this gets them caught in the road block, causes them to shoot it out with the police, and the car crashes down a ravine killing all inside. So the entire Jarvis gang is dead, and where the money is dies with them. Enter detective Tom Dwyer (Don Red Barry) who offers to find the loot for the 10% reward.

Now Barry makes an interesting crime picture protagonist. He looks somewhat like a cross between Chester Morris and Don Rickles, if you can conceive of such a thing, doing his best James Cagney while smiling like the Joker. He comes across a carnival museum making a show out of the Jarvis getaway car, there are always two hoods hanging around, a dead man shows up in a rollercoaster who wasn't there when the ride started, and then there is Detour's Ann Savage who belts a few tunes at the local club.

There are people being shadowed, an attempt to gun down Barry on the streets, and two attempts to run over Ann Savage with a car, and this is the first time I've ever seen a private investigator with a welding certificate before. Maybe he learned it during the war?

Not to spoil anything for you, but the entire heist and who winds up being responsible for various crimes and the twists and turns in the plot that are revealed are convoluted and at worst just incoherent. But it keeps moving, has great dialogue and atmosphere, and it keeps you guessing because who would ever determine the crazy actual denouement?

This rare crime film from 1940s Republic Pictures is worth your time. Just don't think too hard.

A gang steals $300,000 from a bank, but all die in the robbery and pursuit. The money has disappeared. The insurance company offers a 10% reward for the total, and in waltzes cocky PI Don Barry in a grey outfit and hand-painted tie, leaving girl friend Adele Mara dancing by herself while he pursues night club singer Ann Savage and the money.

Republic was interested in expanding Barry beyond his fans from the Red Ryder movies, and he slips easily into this movie, which has some nice film noir touches -- notice the shadows thrown off by a set of Venetian blinds early on. Despite these visuals, and a sequence set in a fun fair at night, it's not in the least noirish. Barry is too cavalier, and there's a hint of 1930s screwball in Miss Mara's role. All in all, an entertaining little film, with a couple of nice twists, and Sheldon Leonard as a hood called 'Wires' McGuire.

A bank robbery of $300,000 is a success, but all three robbers are killed in a car crash. And no one can find the money.

Private eye Tom Dwyer (Donald Barry, Republic's answer to Jimmy Cagney) inserts himself into the investigation mainly because the reward is 10% of the money.

The first order of business is to find the car, which is now an exhibit at an amusement park. Dwyer learns there has been some interest in purchasing the car. It seems evident that they think the money is somewhere, maybe not in the car, but as part of the car.

Eventually he meets a nightclub singer, played by Ann Savage. He asks for her help. Meanwhile, bodies keep showing up.

There were some interesting camera shots in this film, and the roller coaster scene was amazing, even though it's an obvious process shot. The dialogue is fast and somewhat suggestive in parts. There is some nice editing as well.

Barry's acting is very pleasant; I understand he was impossible to work with. It's too bad. Besides Savage, look for Sheldon Leonard, Irving Bacon, and Tom Dugan in smaller roles. Adele Mara is good as the woman constantly being stood up by Dwyer. Savage uplifts the entire film - great presence.