Double Deal

Marie Windsor and Richard Denning as "Buzz" pair up to bring in her oil well against the forces at be.Great quickie with actors who have all been in heavier fare.Cheesy dialogue,fist fights,gunplay,sexual tension and plot twists keep this trash-daddy moving at a clip pace in glorious black & white.At times the actors seemed amused as they delivered their lines.Dark and serious oil field trash film see Stark Fear with Beverly Garland.

The material here would have made a fine noir had it been made by a visual stylist; and coming from the Mecca of noir, RKO, I'm surprised at the straightforward filming. After all, many icons of noir are already present—the lonely bus, the seedy bar, the penniless male lead, and, of course, the queen of slutty vamps, Marie Windsor. Except here, she's playing a good girl, of all things, a role a thousand lesser actresses could have handled.

Nonetheless, it's a good little potboiler that manages to avoid many clichés of its kind. Everybody's conniving to get hold of an oil well that has gusher potential, including good guy Denning. But I'm especially impressed by Fay Baker who makes a scary hard-nosed villainess, plotting as ruthlessly as the men. The cast itself is full of colorful characters, especially Taylor Holmes who can't pass up anything that's spelled a-l-c-o-h-o-l. The script also includes a good surprise ending I didn't see coming. All in all, the 70-minutes is better than most programmers of the time, even if the great Marie Windsor is wasted.

Now this film does have its faults and plot holes - an able-bodied able-minded engineer in post-war America (Richard Denning as "Buzz") who is living life as a drifter in need of a job, an alcoholic lawyer, not practicing for years who doesn't have the money for a drink or a smoke but DOES have a home and plenty of food AND an exotic pet, and plenty of people turning up murdered and yet the police who are apparently not corrupt can't figure out who has done what but really do enjoy slapping suspects around.

The story revolves around a feuding brother (Reno) and sister (Lilly). Lilly inherited three oil wells, and brother Reno inherited just one, yet Lilly wants Reno's well too because Reno shot Lilly's fiancé in an argument over gambling. It was judged a justifiable shooting, but considering how poor the legal system works in this town, maybe Lilly has a point with her legal dissatisfaction. Buzz agrees to help Reno bring in his well...in a small town where the sister is known to cause trouble of both the economic and physical kind for anybody who gets in her way? In 1950 why didn't he just get a job with an oil company? Because then we'd have no story.

This film is very sexually provocative for 1950, considering the production code was still in full force. My assumption was that Terry and Reno were husband and wife - they are in and out of each other's hotel rooms without knocking and just give off that impression. But they are not married. The conclusions are unspoken but inevitable. Also, wealthy vindictive sister Lilly seems to be married to somebody who has lost her interest and respect. Well, he (James Griffith as Walter) has lost her interest and respect, but they are not married either although Walter is apparently living at Lilly's home. Again the conclusions are unspoken but inevitable. Also, Lilly seems to be laying every man in town who is involved in the oil business. This is apparently how she keeps them under her thumb - that and money. Don't these guys ever compare notes or do they care? Again, quite sexually frank for 1950.

Don't let the clichés in the opening moments of the film fool you - things are not as they appear. I'd recommend this one as a good but not great film noir.

Richard Denning (Buzz) rides into a small oil town and heads to the nearest bar looking for work. Bingo! That was easy. He's got a job. Seemingly, he is an engineering expert capable of turning a profit for an oil rig with a lame past as well as providing muscle against sabotage. It's a good CV! He eyes up Marie Windsor (Terry) on their first meeting and you sense that love is in the air. He is not subtle about it - ha ha! Well, there is a bad element in town, of course, in the form of ruthless businesswoman Fay Baker (Lilly) and she has her eyes on the oil rig for herself. Well, some bodies pile up and there are murders to solve.

It's an alright film to watch, made interesting by the role of Fay Baker. She is excellent and very memorable as the town's top girl. You don't mess with her. We needed more scenes with her. Marie Windsor starts the film off in a hard-edged manner but seems to soften towards the end, and you look forward to the showdown that you know will come at some point between Baker and Windsor. The audience is just waiting for that Joan Collins v Linda Evans Dynasty catfight. As the film is set in the world of oilfields, it will make you think of the Dallas/Dynasty days.

Set against this is the very dreadful character of the town's drunk lawyer Taylor Holmes (Corpus). Yeah, we get it - he's drunk all the time. Why are there so many scenes with him being drunk and unfunny? One scene really tests the patience when he is making a meal with his stupid pet monkey. No need for this scene at all - it is not endearing as it is obviously supposed to be. Well, I guess he is relevant to the story. By the way, this film has a twist that I guarantee you will not expect.

"I'll Oilwells love you" sang the great Dolly Parton on one of her 1960s albums.

This movie should have been titled "Triple Deal". It has a dozen plot twists, some very surprising sexual overtones, and a totally unexpected ending. This is the kind of perfect "B" that will never be made again. Richard Denning, Marie Windsor, Taylor Holmes, and James Griffith - all reliable "B" players we have learned to appreciate over the years. It is movies like this that make us mourn the studio system.