La grande menace

1948's Walk a Crooked Mile bursts out of the stale post-war semi-documentary format to become an absorbing espionage drama, thanks to: *Carefully rationed, no-nonsense writing (screenplay by George Bruce; story by longtime veteran Bertram Milhauser (over 60 film treatments in 50 years!); *Sharp and spare direction (by the versatile Gordon Douglas - said to be the only person to direct both Elvis and Sinatra). Filming took less than a month; * Watchful camera (cinematography by George Robinson), and enchanting location work in the beautiful San Francisco of nearly three-quarters of a century ago; * Unobtrusive acting by leads Dennis O'Keefe as an FBI agent and Louis Heyward as his Scotland Yard counterpart; * Enough angles and twists to keep you guessing to the very last frame; *And shrewd bit-casting (with an unexpected throat-catching moment lasting less than 20 seconds that you will remember for a long time , from veteran ...and uncredited... actress Tamara Shane - Moma Yoelson in The Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (1949) and Mrs Akim Tamiroff in real life -- as The Landlady).

All this cinematic professionalism produces so much edge and vitality that a virtually unheralded, almost forgotten 1948 Cold War Feds 'n Reds potboiler is transformed into a surprisingly compelling action movie, complete with smart detective work, a rats' nest of sneering villains (look for a hirsute, almost svelte and quite nasty Raymond Burr), unexpectedly tense car chases and really noisy Thompson sub-machine guns.

The crafty script doesn't pull at its leash, begging for attention, but instead remains in the background, a steadily ticking clock mechanism -- or perhaps a time bomb -- pushing the nail-biting action forward, with twists and turns at every corner.

Using the documentary style format complete with the stentorian baritone of Reed Hadley, indispensable voice-of-God in the "official" crime dramas of the time, this Columbia Pictures black-and-white feature zeroes in on one of the most disquieting aspects of the Cold War: theft of nuclear secrets.

Atomic plants worry about two kinds of leak: radiation and security. In the fictional Southern California research lab of Walk A Crooked Mile, it's a security leak that has the FBI's Geiger Counters ticking away madly. Vital secrets are being stolen by an unnamed foreign power. (Soviet Russia is never named, but there are plenty of "comrades" and "dictatorship of the proletariat" speeches bandied around by un-American conspirators as to leave no question just which Pravda-subscribing Great Bear is after our Atomic Honey. Besides, villain Raymond Burr is wearing a goatee just like Lenin's!)

Because of the international ramifications of the thievery, the FBI (Dennis O'Keefe) and Scotland Yard (Louis Hayward) join forces to try and catch the red crooks.

Unique among FBI films of the period, the "Chief" is never seen or heard: J. Edgar Hoover is never even mentioned! Indeed, the producer, Edward Small, had had no cooperation from the agency, and Director Hoover had even written a letter to the New York Times complaining that the movie had not been sanctioned by the Bureau. (Reportedly, Walk a Crooked Mile had been originally titled FBI vs Scotland Yard but this was changed at Mr. Hoover's request.)

Despite this official hands-off policy, there is an air of authenticity about the proceedings as the sleuths employ the latest technology in an attempt to uncover the spy ring. The technology may seem to be on a kids' chemistry set level to our sophisticated eyes three-quarters of a century later, but the agents from the FBI and Scotland Yard use their brains as well - and this display of sharp wits is a nice change from the robotic by-the-numbers G-Man tales of the time. And lots of unexpected curves along this crooked mile keep you guessing for every minute of a wild ride.

A good spy thriller, with astute detective work neatly balanced by the occasional bout of violent action.

The film's stark and scrumptious cinematography is why you should watch. George Robinson and Edward Colman do an absolutely fantastic job. Noir fans will appreciate the film's use of shadows to create a tense mood.

The plot will hold your interest: with the help of a U. S. government worker(s) top secret atomic research work is being stolen by a communist spy ring. FBI agents, with the aid of Scotland Yard, work against time to stop the theft.

Louis Hayward plays the Scotland Yard agent and Dennis O'Keefe is his FBI counterpart. The two have chemistry together.

There is a blandness, though, to much of the crime investigation procedural part of the film - which is extensive. There's no love interest for any of the main characters. In fact, there's only one female character in the film and she doesn't have any substantial speaking lines until late in the movie.

A communist spy ring infiltrates the top secret Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics. Dedicated FBI agent Daniel F. O'Hara works late into the night. He receives a call from fellow agent Jimmy Colton who is murdered before he could reveal his info about Lakeview. He is joined by Philip 'Scotty' Grayson from Scotland Yard in the investigation.

It's a G-man noir, standard police procedural. They're all in spiffy suit and tie and wearing their hats. They talk in that hardened police tone. It has the police narration. The plot is a straight investigation with the standard twists and turns. The story is ripped from the headlines. It's a well-made police noir.

Two things particularly drew me into seeing 'Walk a Crooked Mile'. One was the suitably foreboding title. The other was a nice concept in a genre that has always been a favourite, with many great films in it. Very interesting seeing Louis Hayward in a role never seen in this way before, or at least from my experience. The advertising is not much different from the advertising of other films in the genre or similar, but that didn't matter too much to me.

'Walk a Crooked Mile' is worth a viewing, even if in my view it isn't a must or a genre classic. For me, it was slightly above mixed feelings level. Really appreciated its pull no punches approach and was really surprised by how well Hayward came off, but also really wished that the ending was so much stronger than it turned out. There is a lot to like about 'Walk a Crooked Mile', but it is also a film that is fairly easy to criticise even when taking it for what it is (so not to expect high art).

It does have moments of stylish and moody photography and eerie lighting. The music is suitably ominous without over emphasising the mood. The direction is suitably assured and shows a command and understanding of the genre. Much of the script is fine, really liked its tautness and grit.

A tautness and grit that is present in the uncompromising and sometimes brutal storytelling, which has some nice tension and entertainment value. Its documentary noir style structure is fascinating and is handled very well, not gimmicky or too heavily used. Hayward is hard boiled yet also understated, nothing melodramatic. Dennis O'Keefe is even better and the two work very well together.

However, 'Walk a Crooked Mile' could have been more. The low budget does show at times in the sparse settings and some rushed looking transitions. Some of the dialogue over-explains a little too much, especially the overused narration.

Did wish too that the ending was less anaemic when it came to the suspense and that it was less predictable, that final decision is so cliched and tacked on to the point it jars and doesn't make sense.

Overall, decent. 6/10.

Interesting docunoir about atomic/nuclear formulas being syphoned out of the Lakeview facility in the USA and finding their way into the iron curtain via the UK.

This is a very early example of FBI-Scotland Yard cooperation, showing the sophistication that already existed immediately after WWII, in spite of much more rudimentary spying technology than we have today. Amazing how sound was recorded on LPs, and 16 or 8mm cameras were used at stakeouts.

With Reed Haley as the narrator, the viewer gets the low-down on an intricate international operation to detect why fomulas are spirited out of the USA in art form -- paintings which, as agent O'Hara (O'Keefe) memorably points out, only suffer from having "too much red" in them.

As ever, O'Keefe is very convincing as an FBI agent, Hayward likewise as his Scotland Yard counterpart, and you can see that it is not the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but one that is already firmly in place.

Massey would have deserved a better part, and I found Onslow Stevens and Charles Evans very effective and chilling top villains. Allbritton is a beautiful woman, pity we see so little of her

Photography and action sequences top notch. Recommended.