Cocaina

Dan Duryea only had a few years in Hollywood before Richard Widmark came on the scene and took all the good roles, and in Johnny Stool Pigeon, he pulled out all the stops to make audiences loyal to him instead of the newer blond bad boy. It was a very good performance, and I hope he had a lot of fun playing the title character.

Against his better judgment, he agrees to work with the police in exchange for his freedom. He hates Howard Duff, the federal agent who helped put him behind bars in the first place, but he has to work closely with him to plan a huge drug bust across the Mexican border. Shelley Winters goes with the pair, and while Dan is smitten, she only has eyes for Howard. Poor guy!

Check out this exciting crime flick to find out if she ever changes her mind. It's a great salute to Dan Duryea, and the story has some twists and turns you won't see coming. Plus, you'll probably recognize the mute, menacing villain even though he doesn't reveal his distinctive accent: young "Anthony" Curtis.

One of the more underrated actors of his day was Dan Duryea. He never became a household name but the actor had a great knack for playing all sorts of characters...some good, some pure evil and many in between. Here, you get a good chance to see him at his best. Along for the ride is Howard Duff, whose part is strictly by the book and not particularly interesting. Additionally, in one of his first films is Tony Curtis who plays a mute assassin of all things!

There is an international drug ring running from Mexico all the way to Vancouver. The federal authorities have some leads...but not much. So, to help them infiltrate this mob, George (Duff) arranges to have Johnny Evans (Duryea) released early from prison. The problem is George isn't very sure how far he can trust his new partner and they go undercover at a dude ranch outside of Tucsan, Arizona. Things get complicated when Johnny brings along a dame he feels sorry for (Shelley Winters), though having her along might easily jeopardize everything.

The film is mostly unremarkable but enjoyable. However, the movie really had a terrific ending--and this alone help elevate the movie above the ordinary. Well worth seeing.

Federal agents risking mortal danger to infiltrate criminal syndicates supply one of the basic templates for film noir. The crooks can variously be counterfeiters (as in T-Men) or traffickers in illegal laborers (as in Border Incident) or, here in Johnny Stool Pigeon, heroin smugglers.

Those first two films were by the resourceful Anthony Mann; Johnny Stool Pigeon is by William Castle, no Mann but later to become the king of cheapie horror flicks after an apprenticeship in noir (his When Strangers Marry may be the best of his juvenilia).

It's a creditable if not especially memorable effort, thanks mostly to a cast headed by Dan Duryea, Howard Duff, Shelly Winters (in her sexpot phase) and, in a non-speaking part, young Tony Curtis (here billed as "Anthony," a better billing than he got in the same year's Criss Cross, where his manic rhumba with Yvonne De Carlo went uncredited).

Narcotics cop Duff knows his only chance to crack an international drug ring is by springing a convict (Duryea) whom he'd help put in Alcatraz. The oil-and-water team of unwilling partners travels from San Francisco first to Vancouver then, gang moll Winters in tow, to a dude ranch near Tucson run by the mob.

The plot's volatility depends on the possibility of Duff's being sold out by Duryea or recognized by Curtis, who spends half the movie knitting his brows in an effort to remember where he'd seen Duff before. Reckoning finally comes at a dangerous drug buy at the Nogales border crossing.

As a straight arrow, Duff's not bad, though in more ambivalent roles in movies like Shakedown or The Naked City, he can turn into a slithery chameleon. The reliable Duryea does his soured cynic number -- he had it down pat by now. Winters adds a dash of hot sauce, but it's a sketched-in part at best. Johnny Stool Pigeon adds up to a pretty routine hour-and-a-quarter of noir -- but that's far from faint praise.

A narcotics agent helped by an ex-con and a blonde floozie goes undercover to nab a criminal gang.

The routine story is boosted by a good cast and some nice production touches. That opening shootout grabs us right away, along with the moody location shots of San Francisco, and later, in and around Tucson. The film was made at a time when movies were hitting the streets instead of the sound stages, so it's a good chance to catch styles and relics, circa 1949.

Surprise, surprise, veteran bad guy Duryea actually gets a semi-sympathetic role and only has to snarl once. And catch the unforgettable Shelley Winters, just starting her whiny isn't-she- cheap act. Between them, they lend real color to the production, along with a sneakily jovial John McIntire as the dude ranch host.

Some film buffs may not be aware of director William Castle's career before becoming a notorious schlockmeister with gimmicky teenage films like 13 Ghosts (1960) or The Tingler (1960). But he had a very respectable career at RKO with the brilliantly offbeat The Whistler series of the late '40's before coming over to Universal for this crime drama.

There're a number of good touches here. Catch a young Tony Curtis as the mute hit-man, a role made all the more effective by his pretty-boy good looks. Also, what a great way to heighten suspense by handing off that life-or-death message to a possibly non-English speaker, or by filming the climactic scene at an actual border-crossing with its rows of backed-up cars.

No, a programmer like this won't win any awards, but it's another example of how energetic movie-making was during its studio period.

Feels fairly by-the-numbers but, honestly, it's also a ton of fun. Solid cultivation of suspense, really fun characters and a fantastic ending. I recommend it!