Rough Shoot

Eric Ambler's scripts more often than not annoyed me by being muddled and artificial. This is no exception, and the first part of the film makes you squirm in uneasy impatience, but then things turn interesting as the plot unfolds. Hitchcock was very careful about always letting the audience know exactly what was happening, that major principle is missing here like in so many Hitchcock-inspired films. Joel McRea is generally reliable, but the real actor here is Herbert Lom as the Polish commandant in the service of MI5, he is wonderful in every scene and lifts the film out of the ditch. The intrigue is interesting, Joel McRea attempts to shoot a hare and hits a man with a buckshot, and the man is dead. No one thinks of the idea that the man could have been shot by someone else at the same time, two shots and two hits from a long distance, which immediately throws the film out of credible realism. There are Germans involved interested in atomic secrets, their leader Marius Goring always haughty and unsympathetic, but Roland Culver as the MI5 man also makes a good impression. Evelyn Keyes is the enjoyable character of the film, and Herbert Lom gives her the proper treatment. There is a great finale which saves the film, but the major asset is actually a great score by Hans May, which gives the right espionage atmosphere to the film, although the real thing is missing.

A Hitchcock like espionage movie shot by the American director Robert Parrish in England, in the early 50's. We had already seen this kind of try with Jacques Tourneur's CIRCLE OF DANGER, except that this latest film was not an espionage one.

It's surprising to see Joel Mc Crea in a non western feature. And it's a pretty good success. As far as I remember, and perhaps I am wrong because I did not see it since twenty years, the Tourneur's movie included a hunting party too, but perhaps not at the beginning, like this one.

We easily feel the British influence in this programmer, and not only through the actors. But the general atmosphere sounds nevertheless mainly from the USA.

A fairly good caper film.

"SHOOT FIRST" (1953) Joel Macrae - I like Joel Macrae but this one just left me quite bored. The cable guide gives it 3 stars, I'd give it one star.

Herbert Lom plays pivotal character, Sandorski.

How can such an exciting storyline be treated so shabbily? Even as I was watching it I thought it was as if they purposely toned-down the dynamic impact (typically British under-statement) in order to convey stark distance and a sort of clinical detachment.

Macrae plays an American Army officer in England who gets involved with some local Nazi spies. But that sounds way more exciting than the movie actually is.

I knew zero about Director Robert Parrish until recently, but then I saw IN THE FRENCH STYLE and SADDLE THE WIND, two very different films, and I liked his style and versatility.

I might add that I am quite impressed by ROUGH SHOOT (aka SHOOT FIRST! In the US) and its Hitchcockian touches, including the musical score by Hans May which vaguely pre-announces Bernard Herrmann.

I do like watching Joel McCrea. Never a great actor, somehow he reminds me of William Powell's pleasant presence on screen. Even in unremarkable roles, he is a joy to watch, always calm and with a reassuring smile. The exquisitely beautiful Evelyn Keyes lights up the screen, Laurence Naismith rates very effective as the MI5 spy master, Herbert Lom plays a friendly Polish colonel with great savvy and cunning, Marius Goring and his sidekick driver are the heavies, and the twisty and clever screenplay by Eric Ambler takes you through an eventful train ride to an explosive finale at Madame Tussaud's, London.

Can you ask for better? 8/10.

"Shoot First" is a Cold War suspense film that kept having ask "why did he do that?" as much of the behavior of the leading character, Lt. Colonel Taine (Joel McCrea) made little sense.

The story is set in England. American Lt. Colonel Taine and his wife live there and rent some land where the Colonel likes to hunt. One day, he sees someone on the land and he thinks it's a poacher...so he decides to put some birdshot into the guy and teach him a lesson. However, just as Taine fires, so does a hidden enemy agent...but this shot is from a rifle and it kills the supposed poacher. But Taine thinks he did it and hides the body. Now don't you think in doing this he would have seen a rifle shot?? And, that the shot was on the OTHER side of the man's body?? Well, apparently this Colonel knows little about guns and he just hopes no one finds him.

In the meantime, enemy agents are lurking everywhere around the property. So what do the forces of NATO do? They send one man (Herbert Lom) to look into it. And, when they find spies, instead of calling in troops, he and Taine get caught up in trying to capture them!! Considering the future of the free world hangs in the balance, this does seem like a stupid plan!

As you might have guessed, I did not love this film. In addition to not making much sense, the film also was awfully dull...which is odd for an espionage film.