Kill or Be Killed

Laurence Tierney is an engineer and architect in Brazil. He wants to be paid for installing an air-conditioning unit in a dive, but he's put off. Before you know it, he's been accused of a murder, shot at by the police, swum underwater for a couple of hundred yards with a bleeding wound, and been rescued by concert pianist Marissa O'Brien who's about to go find some peace in the jungle. He invites himself along, lest the police's aim improves with practice, and finds himself designing a new house for George Coulouris, who's talking with a German accent.

Odd people you meet on the Universal Studios back lot! Some of the street scenes were shot in Lisbon, but they don't add anything I noticed to this indie B movie, directed by Max Nosseck. It's a bog-standard B movie, barely indistinguishable from dozens of others of the period. Everyone seems to be competent, except possibly for the costume designer, whose name is understandably omitted from the credits.

This is probably most notable for the performance of Lawrence Tierney ("Warren") playing a goodie for a change. He has just installed an air-con system in a bar in Brazil and whilst chasing up his cash, he discovers the owner has been robbed and murdered and he has to escape into the jungle on an old river boat; with the help of concert pianist Marissa O'Brian ("Maria"), who is joining her husband (Rudolph Anders) and his dodgy business partner George Coulouris ("Sloma") in the remote Amazonian wilderness. Aside from a rather fun contribution from his young, mute, pal who gives him a timely warning about piranha fish, the plot degrades quickly into a plodding melodrama with some beautiful scenery but precious little else to rescue it from the doldrums with a rather underwhelming conclusion.

This fast-paced and reasonably well-written noir is rare for a few reasons. One is simply that it's hard to find. Another is that it was shot on location in Brazil. Rarest perhaps is that quintessential noir bad boy Lawrence Tierney plays the hero for once.

Tierney, whose off-screen escapades rivaled those of the characters he played, had worn out his welcome in Hollywood by this time, but his performance here shows he could easily have become a leading man in action films. However, according to Wikipedia "In just seven years between 1944 and 1951, Tierney was arrested over a dozen times for brawling, frequently for drunkenness."

Here he plays an American engineer on assignment in a Brazilian river town. The familiar plot is one that was a favorite of Alfred Hitchcock among others: the innocent man, framed for a murder he didn't commit, tracking down the real killer, although in this case both the framing and tracking are accidental.

There's also the woman met along the way who believes him and helps conceal him, here a lackluster performance, perhaps intentional for a rather passive role, by little-known Marissa O'Brien.

At one point he joins an exploited plantation work gang, so there's even a bit of social commentary.

A must-see, if you can find it, for Tierney cultists.

Only Lawrence Tierney completists should subject themselves to this dull, inert and unengaging flick about an engineer wrongly accused of murder. A lot of the story takes place in ships or a jungle as he goes on the run, and falls for a dippy dame who protects him. The sappy dialogue hopes to make us believe there is a romantic spark between these two despite there being little chemistry between them and they both act stiff as ironing boards throughout. Then the coincidences pile up to make matters worse. However, I'll give it three points: (1) for some OK action (2) the exotic locations and (3) there is some curious plotting involving a mute youth. But that's about it. Although it has a very short run-time I found myself checking my watch several times before I gave up on it 45 mins through (and watched the rest a few days later). You've been warned!

Wrongly accused of murder, Robert Warren (Lawrence Tierney) must elude capture while trying to track down the real killer. Along the way, Warren is assisted by the beautiful Maria Marek (Marissa O'Brien), leading to even more trouble for Warren. Maria's jealous husband (Rudolph Anders) and his henchman (George Coulouris) cause big problems.

When the action switches to the jungle, things get even more interesting.

A very entertaining film, KILL OR BE KILLED is filled with drama, thrills, and romance. One memorable chase scene takes us through some spectacular Portuguese locations!

Tierney is fantastic in his hunted role!...