Hunt the Man Down

Gig Young and Harry Shannon make such a likeable team as father & son sleuths it's too bad this absorbing little RKO potboiler didn't lead to a series.

James Anderson learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when his bravery during a holdup reawakens interest in a murder he was accused of a dozen years earlier. The downward mobility most of those present on that fateful night twelve years earlier (one blind, one drunk, one mad) paints a surprisingly downbeat picture of life scraping along the bottom in the good old U. S. of A.

A good screenplay :a William Irish-like hero against the outside world ,with father-and-son investigating in the tradition of Ellery Queen .Classic murder mystery indeed.

After risking his life in break-in ,a man whose photograph makes all the headlines ends up in jail for he was once sentenced to death and escaped after his warden had a heart attack.

But he claims he's totally innocent and there were witnesses on that fateful night when the murder was committed. Hence the necessity to find all these people ,some of whom are dead or mentally ill; the problem of the movie is that it's inevitably too short, and too hurried for comfort: one has not enough time to make acquaintance with the witnesses who become suspects overnight. The fast pace of the movie does not help , but the scenes are generally strong and gripping ,acting is convincing.

The subject is very interesting though:how a man ,after a good deed , may go from one extreme (hero) to the other (criminal) overnight.

Really more of a murder mystery than a noir, with a Perry Mason-like final courtroom scene. One of those films where the detective keeps getting information a bit too easily.

It's about a public defender representing a murder suspect apprehended after fleeing a courtroom while on trial 12 years earlier. What gives it more interest than usual is its showing the changes in the suspects' live from 1938 to 1950 caused by the war, their involvement with the murder, and life in general.

Chief virtues: the fast pace without needless explanation, crisp dialog, and minor characters with their own personality, even if only onscreen briefly.

Not a classic but hold yours interest and provides some food for thought. Perhaps a "B" picture but with quality production values you'd expect from RKO.

The main shortcoming of Hunt The Man Down is that it's too short. It tells the attempt to exonerate a man of a crime committed a dozen years earlier, half a dozen eye-witnesses to which have long since scattered. That's a lot a backstory to cram into a scant 68 minutes – programmer length – when the plot to unfurl is almost as complicated as The Killing or Out of the Past. Despite some nicely observed detail, ranging from Los Angeles' Skid Row to Beverly Hills estates where maids stand by swimming pools with towels on their arm, the many characters don't get their due – Hunt The Man Down becomes less complex than confusing.

James Anderson, working as a dishwasher in a bar that's held up after hours, shoots and kills the intruder; in the resultant publicity, he's spotted as the man who went on the lam before being sentenced for murder some years before. It falls to the public defender (Gig Young) to prove his innocence. With the help of his father, a one-armed retired cop (Harry Shannon), he tries to locate the guests at the impromptu drinking party in 1938 which (as such shindigs so often do) ended in the violent death of one of the merry-makers. He finds the original witnesses elusive, dissembling, deranged or dead. He also finds that, once a habit for homicide takes hold, it's hard to break....

Though Young looks, well, young, he was 37 at the time, with close to two dozen movies behind him. He's still far and away the best-known member of the cast, with the exception of Iris Adrian (as a streel) and Cleo Moore (who shows up for the concluding courtroom scene in a knock-‘em-dead black number, topped off by the sort of hat worn only by floozies in witness boxes). The movie could have used more of her, and of Adrian. For that matter, it could have used more of just about everything.

This unusual RKO supporting feature was ambitious to say the least. Its director was a prolific French born veteran of numerous American features, George Archainbaud. Some of his work has been recognised for its artistic merits (13 Women '32 - The Lost Squadron '32) Archainbaud turned to TV later in his career. The involved and imaginative story was penned by generally undistinguished writer De Vallon Scott - both the direction and story were worthy of being treated to main feature status. An interesting, above average cast bring this rather complicated tale to life with dedicated conviction. Gig Young (why he chose to lump himself with that peculiar name is beyond understanding) plays a dedicated public defender working to uncover the truth behind a re-opened murder case that spans a pre and post WW11 timeline. To save on investigative expenses he asks for assistance from his retired ex-cop father (the always interesting Harry Shannon who played the father of 'Citizen Kane' in '41) together, they make a formidable team.

The time distance between the original crime can make keeping track of this intriguing plot a little difficult - as the audience is expected to remember who the players are - and with most not being particularly well known, this demands some concentration - especially as the war years have brought various changes to their circumstances and appearances. It also looks as if RKO may have shortened the production schedule or made post production cuts at some stage (?) There's no boring padding within this story, it starts and holds fast to the main threads till the end - while it could have done with a tad more character development to assist us to more readily identify them. The casting makes good use of James Anderson (To Kill A Mockingbird '62) and a bevy of wonderful looking - hard working B feature women, including Mary Anderson (Lifeboat '44), Carla Balenda (Sealed Cargo '51).

Especially interesting is the Grace Kellyish; Christy Palmer, who plays the eventual wife to the Gerald Mohr character. Christy Palmer, who in real life married actor Alan Baxter, doesn't seem to have stared in any other film (our loss!) she is another plus for this little movie. Good use is also made of a variety of character actors all given snappy lines to bolster interest as it speedily rolls along. Visually, it's perfectly captured on film by the marvellous Nicholas Musuraca. Above average and under recognised.

Note: The old C&C TV print currently being run on local Aust TV is in need of replacing and either they are running it at a faster speed or they have clipped it - as it only clocks in at 65m while being listed at 69mins. Those four mins just might have helped with further character recognition.