The Walking Target

Well-made, well-written film noir. The Walking Target is a nice reminder that the wellspring of film noir is a great journey.

You will be rewarded for appreciating the simplicity of the many early scenes. The movie is lean. The protagonist makes a beeline for his target.

This one has most of the crime film cliches - good girl, bad girl, double crosses, cocky cop, illogical choices - but for all of its averageness, it is actually an entertaining film. Pretty good pacing and a quick watch, and some really odd, fun little moments. High art it isn't, but if you enjoy old crime movies with a bit of melodrama, it is worth your time. I enjoyed it.

"The Walking Target" is a cheaply made crime film starring a cast of mostly unknown actors of the day. Despite this, it turns out to be very watchable and good for what it is.

Nick (Ron Foster) has been in prison for sometime for his part in a robbery that netted nearly a quarter of a million dollars! What makes this REALLY interesting is that now that his sentence is up, he could always return and get the loot, as no one living knows where it is. However, on his trail throughout the film are cops as well as Nick's 'friends', who would just as soon kill him. Where does all this go? Watch the film..

The acting is good, the script is good. What isn't good are a couple fight scenes, where in both cases, the gang leader just stands there as his men tangle with Nick. And, when Nick beats them up, the boss just stands there! The same goes with Nick's lady friend late in the film....just standing there as Nick fights to the death....doing and saying nothing!! A very bad cliche but an otherwise well made film.

There are moments of a real noir here, but the happy ending spoils it. The acting and the action are good, and the story is good as well, with great suspense and no possibility for anyone to have a guess at how it all will end. The best part of the film is actually the music, which keeps following the action very closely from behind without getting too dominant. The photo is also convincingly in noir style, black and white in shades and dark atmosphere, and of course there are the usual fisticuffs and settlements crowning the troublesome affair. As usual, it would have been easier for the hoodlums to let the hero get away with the girl without causing any trouble, but then again that's what hoodlums are for.

The programmer's neither good nor bad, just a familiar storyline given undistinguished treatment. Nick and two buddies rob an armored car, but the buddies are killed in the robbery. Now Nick's out of prison, intent on retrieving the loot he's hidden. Trouble is both a mobster and the cops are watching. Meanwhile, he's got a sexy blonde girlfriend (Anders) who's double-crossing him with his so-called friend Dave (Christopher). Sound familiar. Yeah, old film fans have probably seen its variation a hundred times.

For a budget production, the effort's competently done. Foster in the lead does his best, but doesn't convey much presence. The cast is distinguished by noir villain Berry Kroeger as the mobster, and Joan Evans as good girl Gail. In fact, Evans had a very promising studio career in the early 50's that unfortunately didn't endure. Looks like this was her last feature-length appearance. I wish there were something outstanding, good or bad, to comment on, but there isn't, unless it's movie vet Fawcett (Packy) who's about as ravaged-looking an old duffer I've seen. All in all, the 70-minutes remains a watchable, but highly unremarkable crime drama that's probably forgotten 5-minutes later.