Get Outta Town

"Get Outta Town" is an amazing film. After all, it features a leading man who only made six films (this was his last) and isn't exactly the Hollywood type. It also features a lot of other rather unknown actors. It also has a budget that appears to be negligible. Yet, inexplicably, it's a very good film! I love seeing films like this--little hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.

The plot of "Get Outta Town" is very, very similar to that of the Michael Caine film "Get Carter". However, its character is a bit different and the resolution very different.

It all begins when Kelly learns that his younger brother died. Kelly was a hood and the last time he was in his hometown, folks were afraid of him. Not surprisingly, his mother and ex-girlfriend want nothing to do with him--he's bad news. Yet, he insists that he's changed and wants to turn his life around once and for all. However, his resolution to change is challenged when he learned that his brother MIGHT have been murdered--and he's out for revenge.

Except for a few problems with the ending (it came a bit too quickly and Kelly behaved a bit oddly when confronted by the police), it was a very good film. I liked the dialog and Wilson's acting was surprisingly strong. If you like film noir, this is up your alley. While it isn't quite as dark as many films in the genre, it is a nice tough little picture.

Carrying a 1960 copyright date but with a decidedly 50's feel, the plot, mood and vivid use of locations of this ultra cheap gangster movie shot out and about in Los Angeles all remarkably anticipate 'Get Carter' ten years later.

Aided by excellent photography by Larry Raimond and second unit cameraman Meridith Nicholson and a rousing jazz score by Bill Holman, Bob Wehling's script is crammed with crackling film noir dialogue. Maybe too much; good as much of the talk is it's at the expense of visual exposition, it's rather slackly paced, and the tremendous dialogue is not always done justice by the frequently amateurish acting.

Described by cop Frank Harding as "Rough as a stucco bathtub", co-producer Douglas Wilson as ex-safe cracker Kelly Oleson looks rather middle-aged in the lead, and almost as old as the actress playing his mother. But we meet some hot chicks along the way, hottest of all being gangster's moll Marilyn O'Connor, who we're expected to believe Kelly slept with solely in the line of duty (like James Bond and Fiona Volpe in 'Thunderball').

This quickie is about a former hood (Doug Wilson) who returns to his old stomping grounds to find out who killed his brother. The cops aren't too happy to see him; one of them tells Kelly to get outta town because he stinks. He refers to Wilson as "rough as a stucco bathtub." Wilson's mother isn't too happy to see him and tells him to get outta town. Wilson's former girlfriend (Jeanne Baird) tells him to ... well, you get the idea.

Wilson decides to look up his old pals (with classic names like Rico and Tony), but first he runs into Rico's wife (Marilyn O'Connor). The two quickly go to her apartment for some tonsil hockey, and, for a change, she doesn't tell him to get outta town. As the plot develops, we meet a hood named Rocky and a jerk named Squirrel. Meanwhile, Wilson and O'Connor exchange more saliva. Then Wilson collects some bruises and contusions because somebody wants him outta town. Eventually, we find out what happened to his brother, and Wilson gets outta town.

Wilson is decent in the lead, although the way his hair protrudes over his head was a bit much. All of the babes in the cast (including extras) are great looking ... except for the crone playing Wilson's mother. The jazz score is snappy, and the script is lively and fast moving.

Nationwide, this flick was on a double bill with The Amazing Transparent Man. That film was promoted with a million dollar contest in which moviegoers were asked what they would do with the invisible ray featured in that film. Get outta town!!!

A former hood (Doug Wilson) returns to his old stomping grounds to find out who killed his brother. The cops aren't too happy to see him; one of them tells him to get outta town because he stinks. He refers to Wilson as "rough as a stucco bathtub." Wilson's mother isn't too happy to see him and tells him to get outta town. Wilson's former girlfriend (Jeanne Baird) tells him to ... well, you get the idea. Wilson decides to look up his old pals (with classic names like Rico and Tony), but first he runs into Rico's wife (Marilyn O'Connor). The two quickly go to her apartment for some tonsil hockey, and, for a change, she doesn't tell him to get outta town. As the plot develops, we meet a goon named Rocky and a jerk named Squirrel. Meanwhile, Wilson and O'Connor exchange more saliva. Then Wilson collects some bruises and contusions because somebody wants him outta town. Eventually, we find out what happened to his brother, and Wilson gets outta town.

Wilson is decent in the lead, although the way his hair protrudes over his head was a bit much. All the babes in the cast (including extras) are great looking ... except for the crone playing Wilson's mother. The jazz score is snappy, and the script is pretty good.

Best thing you can say about this film is that the action moves at a fast pace. Hard knobbed cops talking fast. Gangsters talking fast. Fast hot girls.

If that's your speed, you'll like it.

It's one of those transitional Noir films from the 50's to the 60's. The music is all horns and piano. Jazz. Not like the Noir of earlier years. The direction is more TV than theatre.

Location shots in LA are interesting to watch.

The director did a lot of bit player acting in TV and only directed three films -- with long lapses of time in between. He's OK as a director, considering the actors are larely unknown.

No Citizen Kane, but watchable fare.