Un pruneau pour Joe

This is an odd little relic from the 1950s. While there were quite a few gangster films made at the time as well as anti-Communism thrillers (such as MY SON, JOHN and I MARRIED A COMMUNIST), this is the only film I can think of that merges the two genres! In a highly unusual move, the Communists enlist the aid of a deported American gangster (George Raft) to orchestrate the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist. This makes the film's concept rather interesting, but the film itself is hampered by low-energy performances (particularly Edward G. Robinson and Raft to a lesser extent) and poor casting (almost none of the people spoke with French-Canadian accents despite the film supposedly taking place in Montreal). In fact, Robinson sounded pretty much like he was on sedatives! Perhaps the reason for this muted performance was just because this excellent actor was so badly miscast. As a result, it is STILL watchable but also quite skip-able as well.

This lesser and curiously-titled noir re-unites two stars (who had previously been teamed in Raoul Walsh's MANPOWER [1941]) from the gangster heyday – Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. Robinson, by now, was alternating between good-guy/authoritative roles and villainous types – so it was Raft who got saddled with the obsolete hoodlum figure (albeit a mere cog in the wheel in the plot to kidnap a nuclear scientist, with Peter van Eyck as the true ring-leader).

While I thoroughly enjoyed ILLEGAL (1955), also with Robinson and by director Allen and which actually preceded this viewing, I was less enthused with this one: tolerable in itself but not especially interesting as drama (though, again, it was concocted by two noir specialists – OUT OF THE PAST [1947]'s Geoffrey Homes, a pseudonym for Daniel Mainwaring, and A.I. Bezzerides who, soon after, would contribute the far more significant KISS ME DEADLY [1955]); still, the hard-boiled dialogue (especially as delivered by the cynical Raft) is one of the main sources of entertainment throughout the film.

For most of the duration, though, Robinson takes a back seat to the criminals' activities – whose scheme is handled in a needlessly convoluted way that involves a couple of seductions (of the scientist by Raft's moll Audrey Totter, herself a noir staple, and of his prim female assistant by one of the gangster's lackeys) and, of course, leaves a trail of murder behind it! A couple of twists late in the game see Totter really falling for the naïve scientist and Raft persuaded by Robinson into doing his patriotic duty and turning against van Eyck (atypically, the climax takes place aboard ship).

For the record, I've six more Robinson films in my "To Watch" pile – three vintage titles (the compendium TALES OF MANHATTAN [1942], the sentimental family saga OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES [1945], and the noir-ish melodrama THE RED HOUSE [1947]) and three minor outings, all of which happen to be capers, from his twilight period (OPERATION ST. PETER'S [1967] THE BIGGEST BUNDLE OF THEM ALL [1968], and IT'S YOUR MOVE [1969]).

"Joey" (George Raft) arrives in Canada tasked with kidnapping a nuclear scientist on behalf of his nefarious principles. What he finds when he arrives is a rather messy state of affairs as there are already corpses mounting up and that's attracted the attention of the RCMP's finest inspector "Leduc" (Edward G. Robinson) who knows that the only thing connecting the deaths so far is the professor "Macklin" (George Dolenz). "Joey" re-assembles his old gang and that includes his ex "Joyce" (Audrey Totter) who is to try a more persuasive approach with the scientist - but one way or the other they are determined to get his secrets or himself. It's got a bit of an Cold War edge to it, this drama, and as the story develops we can see that the villain of the piece isn't fully aware of the ramifications of his task, nor of it's implications for the freedom loving nations of the world, and as the detective gets closer to tracking down who did what to whom and why, a crisis of conscience begins to trouble the unscrupulous gangster and that makes things way more perilous for just about everyone. There is not much jeopardy here and Raft is curiously underwhelming as the thrust of the plot is a little too contained by a more overt political message that rather dragged the story down. Totter also doesn't really deliver anything substantial and it takes until very near the end before it livens up enough to get Robinson out of his office and into the people smuggling racket. It's perfectly watchable but hasn't quite the bite of the usual Raft/Robinson characterisations and falls a bit flat.

Not bad, but rather formulaic 50's crime/spy movie. However, it was redeemed by George Raft's delivery of one of the best and funniest lines I've ever heard. No spoilers here, but pay attention during the scenes between Robinson and Raft.

Communist agents in Canada are spying on Dr. Carl Macklin, an atomic physicist whose knowledge they want to steal. To kidnap him, Eric Hartman, the party's top man in Montreal, offers $100,000 to deported American criminal Joe Victor.

Joe's former flame Joyce Geary is blackmailed into helping with the plan. Police inspector Leduc of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigates. A thug working for Victor kills the scientist's secretary after using her to gain information. Leduc is taken prisoner aboard a ship as Hartman and Victor attempt to take Dr. Macklin with them to Europe.

Leduc pleads with Victor, who misses his native country, to do the right thing for and help stop the communists. A shootout ensues between Victor and Hartman ...

Decent crime thriller that gets a major boost by the doyens of gangster films -Edward G Robinson and George Raft - and the story is intriguing enough and there's some exciting moments, though it does drag a little and it's not too exciting at times. Raft and Robinson are a joy to watch, however- loved Raft's one liners.