Blackmail

"Blackmail" is an inexpensively made film. Its leading man, William Marshall, was hardly a household name and the only real star in the film, Ricardo Cortez, was years after his prime...well after he was no longer a big draw. These and it having a B-movie runtime of only 67 minutes, you might assume it's not much of a picture...and you'd be wrong. It's simply terrific...well worth seeing.

The story is about the latest case being handled by a private detective, Daniel Turner (Marshall). A rich guy was drugged and incriminating photos were made with the unconscious man....and he wants Turner to get those photos. However, during their initial meeting, another man appears and attacks both Turner and his client. Soon, the attacker runs from the house...and is shot to death! Turner thinks his client did it....but he's not sure. What he is sure of is that the police need to be contacted. But when the police arrive, the body has disappeared and his client behaves as if nothing has happened!! What actually did happen and who's behind all this?

Despite Marshall not being a big-time actor, he was quite good in this one. He was hard-boiled and up to a LOT of action....with one fight scene after another in this one. All in all, a very exciting and well written picture...one that might seem too good to be a B.

Oh man, this one was too much fun. Practically a parody of hardboiled detective stories, it has more satiricaly funny lines of dialogue than a Firesign Theatre album! I'm not sure if they thought they were playing it straight or not, but it doesn't matter; just hold onto your gat and have a good time!

Fans of low-budget tough guys detective pictures, such as this one made at Republic in 1947, may have noticed that the name Albert DeMond often appears in their credits. IMDB lists over a 132 credits over the years. One suspects that DeMond was often called in at the last moment to punch up mediocre scripts with his snappy barbs and one-liners. DeMond's signature seems to be wise-cracking dialogue, snarled by someone cynical like hard-boiled PI William Marshall in this fast-paced mystery in which lines like "This gun doesn't shoot marshmallows" get tossed around when the leads actors are not fighting bad guys. In little over an hour of screen time, there are three fights plus a car chase. Some of the minor players are worth your time: the beautiful Stephanie Bachelor as a convincing bad girl, Ben Weldon as the gambling club bartender, and George Gay as the butler. Gay sounds a lot like Peter Lorre, although he was born in St. Petersburg. Director Lesley Selander, better know for his Westerns, does an excellent job of keeping things moving so fast you don't have time to follow the plot.

I hardly believed what I saw when I knew this gumshoe film was directed by Lesley Selander who, as Ray Nazarro made hundreds of B westerns during his career. He alsi gave us CATMAN OF PARIS. So, this private eye topic is not bad for its genre, not worse nor better than the common private detective scheme. It's not my cup of tea but I could make it. And from such a director, specialized in westerns, open spaces, mesas, panhandles, chiefs, cavalry scouts, forts, outlaws, showdowns, I found interesting to discover his other face, this time in the crime film directing. Ok, that's only a one hour flick, produced by Republic Pictures, the best of Poverty Row iindustry....

William Marshall stars with Adele Mara and Ricardo Cortez in "Blackmail," a B movie from 1947.

Marshall plays Daniel Turner, who has been hired by a wealthy man, Ziggy Cranston(Cortez) to obain some photos for him - he's being blackmailed. Things are strange from the beginning. While he is meeting with Cranston, both men are attacked.

The man runs from Cranston's house and winds up dead. Turner believes that Cranston killed him. He calls the police and, when they arrive, guess what, the body has disappeared.

I have to say, William Marshall's private life was much more exciting than his one-note acting. However, that was the style of the detectives in these B movies - a tough, no nonsense voice and attitude.

This film had a couple of fight scenes that were doozies! Big ones that never seemed to end, and quite exciting. Enjoyable film.