La morsa si chiude

This is a pretty interesting tale of an average Joe bank teller who is wrongly accused of masterminding a robbery at his bank. The story moves along, the acting is good, and the direction is adept. The movie really ignites flames when CHARLES MACGRAW, as a vengeful bail bondsman, and MARY BETH HUGHES, as a platinum blond femme fatale, are on screen. They both light up the screen with their world-wary, jaded, magnetism. I wish the film had been about them instead of rather dull BARRY SULLIVAN. And DOROTHY MALONE is wasted as the dutiful, loyal wife. In one particularly cringe-worthy scene, Sullivan's boss, Jim Starling (DAYTON LUMMIS), physically hold up his hand up to shush Malone when she tries to make a suggestion, and barks, "I'll handle this, Ruthie." That about sums up how Malone's character was written. Don Beddoe is great as the mild-mannered bank teller in over his head with Hughes, and Richard Reeves is a scene-stealer as Sullivan's new boss who has no time for MacGraw!

When a bank gets audited, one of the tellers, mike donovan, comes up massively short. The viewer sees exactly what happens, so all the suspense comes from seeing what will happen to him when it is discovered. If he had reported it right away, it wouldn't have looked quite so suspicious, but he waited until the next day to report it. It's mostly good. Lots of suspense as the coppers and bond company hound donovan, and keep him from working anywhere else. Can he ever prove his innocence? Directed by harry schuster, for allied. I had seen his marine raiders, which was pretty good! There are several later films with the same name, but only the 1981 version involves a bank robbery. The mistaken identity bit is quite similar to hitchcock's wrong man, from 1956. But of course, loophole came first! Lead barry sullivan had just made bad and the beautiful, and was busy in hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Even has two stars on the walk of fame!

If Loophole had starred a well known actor like Robert Mitchum this film would be better known. But Barry Sullivan good actor that he was never made it to the top tier. As it is it does have Dorothy Malone as Sullivan's loyal supportive wife, but this was two years away from Malone's Oscar performance in Written On The Wind which vaulted her career into the big time.

In fact had Malone already made Written On The Wind she would have gotten the part that Mary Beth Hughes had as the hard hearted dame who drives Don Beddoe into a life of crime.

I have to say that Beddoe and Hughes had one brilliant scheme for embezzlement. They take $50,000.00 from the bank where Sullivan works as a teller and suspicion falls on him. The whole movie is Sullivan trying to clear himself of suspicion.

He's in fact initially questioned by the police and FBI and let go for lack of evidence. But the insurance investigator Charles McGraw stays doggedly and Javert like on his trail. Sometimes Javerts have their uses, but only when they're right. McGraw is dead wrong and won't back off. He keeps hounding Sullivan hoping he'll lead him to the money that he doesn't have.

Beddoe is another interesting character. It's like they borrowed Alec Guinness's character from The Lavendar Hill Mob and used it here in a serious vein. He's this mild mannered teller who gets seduced by Mary Beth Hughes and then embezzles the money. Just a man thinking with his male member getting a taste of a sexy dame way out of his league.

It's Hughes however that really dominates this film. One of her best bad girl roles. But she's definitely one you might risk imprisonment for a little nookie.

Sullivan's a true tragic figure who fortunately had a couple of people believing in him. He's not arrested but he loses his teller job and then McGraw keeps on his trail getting him fired from every job he gets. I've known law enforcement people like that, won't explore other alternatives to a theory of a crime. I've known people who've suffered because of it.

Loophole is quite the sleeper noir film. Definitely do not miss this if it is broadcast.

Mike Donovan (Barry Sullivan) is a teller with a problem - a $49,900 shortage (the equivalent of $466,000 in today's money) in his cash for one day. Gus Slavin (Charles McGraw) from the bonding company is sent to investigate. Slavin is sure Mike stole the money, so he's arrested. The cops believe he had a female accomplice.

Everyone believes Mike except Slavin, so the bond company revokes his bond, and he is fired. Slavin also keeps him from keeping other jobs by telling the bosses they've hired a thief.

Slavin figures if he can keep Mike broke, he'll go for the money. Meanwhile Mike and his wife (Dorothy Malone) sell their house and move into a cheaper place.

Mike meanwhile gets a job as a cab driver, and the boss tells Slavin that until Mike is in prison, he's working there. It's in his cab that Mike hears a familiar voice and the wheels start turning. He and his wife devise a plan.

Charles McGraw is fantastic as a relentless investigator who doesn't have a nice bone in his body. He has the strongest role. The revelation is sweet '30s and '40s ingenue Mary Beth Hughes as a hardboiled blonde - she was terrific! Sullivan and Malone are sympathetic characters and play their parts well.

Great seeing all those old '50s cars.

You know in five minutes how this film will end. But it is the journey, not reaching the destination that is the best part of this low-budget film noir piece. Barry Sullivan is miscast as a banker who has a bad day at the office. But Mcgraw is letter perfect in his Edward G imitation of "Double Indemnity". He plays the hard-nosed bond detective to a tee. The females do well in this film, also. I love the bank robber's moll, who was as evil as they get, and the good girl was predictably played well by good girl Dorothy Malone, who always suffered during love scenes (she could never convince the audience she was overtly sexy). She is fine in this role, however. Sullivan, who was famous for uttering one of the most famous lines that ever slipped through the censors in Hollywood with Barbara Stanwyck in "Forty Guns", when he tells Stanwyck that "she better not play with his gun or it might go off in her face". How the hell did that get through? Anyway, the direction is interesting and the production values are wretched, but somehow, the film works anyway. The idea is quite clever at the beginning. A watchable noir.