Roses Are Red

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..."

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.

B-lister Don Castle doubles up here as a paroled hoodlum ("Carney") who bears a striking resemblance to the local DA ("Thorne"). When the latter is kidnapped, the plan is for him to be substituted by the felon who can then do the bidding of local kingpin, the wheelchair bound "Locke" (Edward Keane). Before they can implement their cunning plan, though, the prisoner manages to free himself and assumes the role of of his own would-be impersonator, and just in the nick of time too. Now it is up to "Thorne" to set a trap for the criminals and to avoid detection - especially perilous when the other man's wife (Patricia Knight) shows up. Surely she will spot the difference and turn him in? We've seen the plot once or twice before so we don't get anything new, but the story is still quite a quickly paced, watchable affair with Jeff Chandler curiously cast as the baddie's enforcer-in-chief. Joe Sawyer is also quite effective as the copper "Lt. Rocky" and despite the rather unhelpful title, it kills an hour well enough.

Roses are Red from 1947 is a poverty row B starring Don Castle in a dual role. It's notable for an early appearance by Jeff Chandler with dark hair.

This script was a repeat of a Columbia film with the locale changed. Castle plays a new district attorney, Robert Thorne, in a corrupt town. Unfortunately, he and a convict, Don Carney, look like they were separated at birth. The crooked political boss (Edward Keane) has Thorne is kidnapped with the idea of having Carney replace him.

He's held captive, with Chandler as one of his guards, while Carney can study him. Meanwhile, Thorne's girlfriend (Peggy Knudsen) attempts to trace a photo found in a murdered woman's apartment that looks like Thorne, but he never knew her. She learns of Carney's existence and finds his wife (Peggy Knight).

Not bad. Castle, a handsome man who resembled Clark Gable, alas had a poor career that went further down, finally going to work as an associate producer for Bonita Granville Wrather's company. He died at 47 of a drug overdose.

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.