Cage of Evil

Ten years earlier this programmer would likely have been a noir. As is, it's a pretty good little crime drama. Detective Harper is a violence prone cop, probably why he doesn't get promoted. And being a cop appears his whole life; that is, until he meets spider woman Holly who's connected to a jewel heist that Harper's investigating. Well, one thing leads to another, and soon he's caring more about her than solving the crime. Still, he's a sharp cookie in covering his tracks, especially now that he's got Holly and a bead on the jewels, and maybe a new carefree life away from an unappreciative detective bureau.

The principals do pretty well in their roles, while I couldn't help noticing a resemblance between actor Foster and the better known Tony Curtis. The screenplay does a pretty good job tracking Harper's absorption into the cage of evil. However, veteran budget director Cahn adds little to the filming. One story change I think would have deepened things is that of giving Harper a home life, maybe a wife. That way his down-spiral would have had a tragic dimension as well as being an unfortunate tale of woe.

Anyway, the flick's better than I expected without being anything special.

Disgruntled cop Ron Foster, passed over for promotion one time too many, is seduced by B-girl Patricia Blair into a diamond theft scheme. And then things go downhill! Considering the general run of director Cahn's many B-pix of the 1950s and early 1960s, this one is rather above average. The look is more standard b/w TV of the late 50s than film noir, but the two leads are very good and put some life into it. There is more outdoor shooting than usual, and the ending adheres to the Production Code of the day.

"Cage of Evil" is a B-movie from United Artists. And, like a typical B, the story lasts around an hour and the cast is filled with mostly unknowns.

Scott is a detective sergeant with ambitions of becoming a lieutenant. However, his focus completely changes when he's working an undercover case involving some stolen diamonds. He is supposed to woo the prime suspect's girlfriend...in the hopes that he can get her to divulge where the diamonds and her boyfriend are. However, the ruse goes over too well, as she soon falls for him and they both decide to kill the boyfriend, keep the diamonds and end up spending the rest of their lives on a tropical beach somewhere. Unfortunately for them, their plans don't go exactly as they hoped.

Despite no-name actors and a quick shooting pace, the film is very well told and exciting. My only small gripe is the narration. First, it isn't necessary. Second, it really wasn't written all that well and often didn't add anything to the story. Still, this IS a minor quibble in an otherwise enjoyable movie.

Pretty good little "B" crime movie. Granted the plot was nothing new but movies are still being made with the same story. Ted Knight was a riot. It seemed like he tried to steal every scene he was in (which wasn't that many). I like the narration, it made the story seem better. I guess this film would be a good candidate for MSTK but certainly wasn't awful. Our hero/antihero? was a little stiff and his slang didn't quite jibe with his stiff suits and clean cut demeanor. It was funny watching "squares" cut loose though. Recommended time filler but not a whole lot of action. Gotta watch out for that plumber though.

TCM Noir Alley host Eddie Muller spent about ten minutes during his intro to "Cage of Evil" trying to convince me that I would hate it. And then he came back after the movie was over and tried some more. Seriously, why? I really liked this movie. It's certainly no worse than any number of other B noirs I've seen over the years.

This one stars a cast of people I've mostly never heard of, led by good looking Ron Foster and fetching model-turned-actress Patricia Blair. Foster, a police officer looking for a promotion, gets himself in a fix over a dame, as such men will in movies like this, and spends the movie becoming increasingly desperate for a way out. It's a cheap, raggedy film, and when it comes to B noirs, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Grade: A-