The Big Bluff

John Bromfield as a two-timing cad and gold-digger in Los Angeles who aggressively woos a wealthy young widow and socialite visiting from New York City (with a bad ticker!). Once she learns she has less than a year to live, the ailing woman and the gigolo get hitched--but he's having an affair with a married dancer and has promised her that his new marriage won't last long. Compact, appropriately overwrought B-grade potboiler (maybe C-grade) has good performances and an ear for melodramatic dialogue. Producer-director W. Lee Wilder keeps the pace moving on a nothing-budget, and sweet-talking Bromfield (with a natty little mustache) amusingly oozes cocky, masculine self-confidence. ** from ****

W. Lee Wilder's THE BIG BLUFF will never be a threat to his brother Billy's genre-defining classic, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, but on its own terms it's a nifty little quickie with a good story and a nice trick ending.

When it starts, this film looks so cheap -- I mean, Ed Wood cheap -- you're tempted to hang it up, but stick with it. It improves as it goes along. The writing and cast are perfectly adequate and it's more entertaining than a lot of big budget A pictures.

An unusual feature of this film is a reversal of the usual noir femme fatale dynamic. Here it's a sexy guy, an "homme fatal" if you will, who seduces a rich, love-starved widow.

Maltin's book (2003) doesn't even list this film, but it's included in the inexpensive 6-CD "Ultimate Film Noir Collection", which I recommend for its intriguing line-up of public domain B-picture rarities, which range from junk to cult classic B's (DETOUR, THE HITCHHIKER) to even a couple great ones (Welles' THE STRANGER).

This is an effective noirish suspense drama. The acting, direction, and cinematography are typical of 1950s low-budget productions but there are plenty of good scenes. After a slow start, the plot evolves into a modern morality tale where a scheming villain gets his payback. The print is inferior (Classic Film Noir, Volume 2) but the soundtrack is satisfactory.

John Bromfield delivers a convincing performance as an unscrupulous gold-digging gigolo who seduces and marries a wealthy widow (Martha Vickers) who is seriously ill with only a few months to live. Much to his dismay, the marriage works wonders for her health and she improves so much that he is forced to hatch a diabolically clever plan to murder her.

Of course, things quickly go wrong and lead to a terrific plot twist and surprise ending. Not classic noir, but a decent little movie with redeeming features.

The only other comment on this film lists a litany of reasons why not to watch it, generally because of unfavorable but irrelevant comparisons to Billy Wilder, the director's brother.

I will give you a reason to watch it; it is effective. John Bromfield makes an effective gigolo and Martha Vickers, while not the most charismatic actress known, does a good job as the object of his affections.

Watch this without taking a lot of baggage in with you and you will be satisfied. It has a nice twist at the end that you may guess, but probably not.

Written by Fred Freiberger (a decade before he made history producing the original "Star Trek" TV series) and produced/directed by B-movie talent W. Lee Wilder, "The Big Bluff" is an unusual drama that especially impressed me with its structure.

The first third (or act in a 3-act play traditional movie format) is placid, with the main characters firmly established, very well-acted by Martha Vickers as the "Ali McGraw" damsel dying of heart disease, but never showing outward signs of decline -in fact that adds to the plot development, her companion Eve Miller - a go-getter always looking out for Martha's interests, and as a fiery dancer/femme fatale Rosemary Bowe (the future Rosemarie Stack re: The Untouchables star) as the Other Woman. John Bromfield is smooth as a real anti-hero, a gigolo type who is alwasy studly and just as avaricious and deadly.

It's pure escapism as they live the high life, the many hints and clues to darkness ahead never interfering with the glamour and easy-going atmosphere.

The second act becomes dramatic as Bromfield's plotting to get rid of Vickers after marrying her for her fortune, and then Wilder steps on the gas for Act III, finally adopting the scary, dark tension and visuals of film noir leading to splendid plot twists coming fast and furious at finale time.

It's quite a sleeper, and has me re-evaluating Wilder's work: it's the tenth movie of his I've seen after enjoying his sci-fi, but never taking him seriously at all, certainly not in the league of brother Billy -I shouldn't have been so hasty.