Balas na Noite

"Casey Martin" can take the final fall for a life of crime or cut a deal with T-Men to go undercover. It takes a tough guy, up against the wall, to tackle the assignment. The actors and script follow through to deliver a good tale. It's surprising that major studios were still making Black & White films in 1955, but the format seems to fit this story.

The question is asked by Lucille in her last scene, as she lies in the hospital to be detoxicated, and she is in hell. She is one of many female victims of Dutch Becker (Forest Tucker) who "owns" fallen girls "body and soul" all over the country, according to the police only in nine states. Frank Lovejoy as a frequent jailbird gets a chance for a clean slate if he helps the police to frame Dutch Becker to make it stick. That is the plot.

It's a grim film of spartan conciseness, and there are many interesting minor details that are important but risk getting bypassed by the action. All the scenes with Gladys Baker (Peggy Castle) are captivating, especially the last one, the longest shot in the film. In fact, it's all the expressive scenes with the women (and they are not many) that makes the film magic and of lasting interest beyond the limits of its time and age.

Frank Lovejoy reminds in this film very much of Eddie Constantine, the forerunner of James Bond but with a school of hard knocks behind him and a scarred face, that ultimately ruined his career. Frank Lovejoy has no scars, but he does have knuckles and uses them frequently. You simply have to love him, and the more for each trouble he starts.

The music is also outstanding, excellently composed and suited perfectly to every scene. This is a great film on a small level that will outshine most film of the period that were made to be more spectacular. This is a noir down to basics and extremely efficient as such.

Veteran small-time criminal Frank Lovejoy gets busted for hijacking a truck he stole. Because of his prison track record, both in doing time and in refusing to be a stool pigeon, he's given the choice: life in prison or help the feds take down big-time crime boss Forrest Tucker. They also tell him to look up his sister Evelyn Eaton, who's now a drug addict, and Tucker's the supplier. Lovejoy has no choice but to accept. Through his old flame Peggy Castle, who was once employed by Tucker as a call-girl, he gets a position in Tucker's organization where he can try and find something concrete on Tucker.

There are tons of these noir(-ish) crime movies where someone infiltrates a crime ring in order to bust it from the inside out. This one's above-average. Within the confines of the Production Code it does all it can to make Tucker's business as seedy and lowlife as possible, by showing the sister's addiction as well as Tucker disposing of a prostitute he cannot use anymore. There's nothing redeeming about this crime boss, but he's also not some crazed lunatic.

The acting is solid across the board. Both Lovejoy ('The Hitch- hiker') and Castle ('99 River Street') are good, playing hardened- by-life characters but with human emotion under the exterior (in Lovejoy's case pure rage, Castle wants to settle down but knows her past will always come back to haunt her). Tucker (in his sole noir?) plays it straight and understated, giving his character a mean edge, even when he doesn't talk. Tucker's sidekick is none other than Timothy Carey ('The Killing'), who has some very nervous fingers in this movie. But as much as I like seeing Carey being Carey, his hyperactive acting felt kinda misplaced here, it's too big a contrast.

The movie looks pretty good, especially the nighttime scenes are well-done. Lovejoy does some nice voice-over narration with lines that could've been pulled straight from a 40s pulp novel. There are no surprises tho, altho there rarely are in these 'expose'-type noirs. Director Harold Schuster did a similar noir a few years late, 'Portland Expose', but this one's better. DoP William Sickner ('Cry Vengeance') does a solid job, and together they occasionally craft a beautifully-looking scene (the one where Castle walks into the night is tender and doomed at the same time).

Overall, it's not a classic, but it's a good example of this type of crime-busting movies. It's competently made and acted, looks good and does more than enough to keep one's attention. It's not a movie with a lot of re-watch value tho, what you see is what you get. Still recommended. 7/10

A minor classic of sorts with 'hidden-gem' vibes, this fast-paced undercover informant cops-vs-mob movie, features memorable characters and locales, some excellent noirish shots here and there, plus an almost sociological view on this gang of hoodlums and its vices. Unusually, the musical score caught my attention with some expressive work that is superior to what one might typically expected from this kind of B-movie. Poignantly, a quote at the end from our protagonist (in voice-over, which appears sporadically throughout the movie) brings a frisson when you know that the actor died not very many years afterwards. Recommended.

Fingerman is a good example of a 50's style crime drama. The basic plot line is: a man who has spent a lifetime committing crimes is "back at work" after his latest release from prison. While committing a hold-up by hijacking a truck, he carelessly drops a pack of cigarettes on the road with his fingerprints all over them and is nailed by the feds. Given a choice to go free if he becomes a stool-pigeon, he has to decide if he'll work for the feds to nab a crime kingpin.

Although there are no major stars, the performances are mostly good. Frank Lovejoy specialized in this type of role, a cynical protagonist caught up in circumstances beyond his control. Forrest Tucker (as the crime boss) and Peggie Castle (as Lovejoy's girlfriend) do well also. Timothy Carey (one of the most bizarre actors in screen history) is a standout as a torpedo in Tucker's employ.

The direction is decent but not outstanding, yet there are a few good moments, such as when two of Tucker's henchmen toss an informer in front of an approaching vehicle. Much of the action occurs at night, thus adding to the "noir" feel of the movie.

The film is unquestionably dated, and may bore younger viewers who need explosions or special effects every five minutes, but if you like 50's crime drama, Fingerman is a good way to kill an hour-and-a-half.