The Big Chase

Joe Flynn (in his first credited screen appearance) interviews Detective Douglas Kennedy, who proceeds to tell him about rookie cop Glenn Langan, Langan's expectant wife Adele Jergen, and the tracking down of newly released crook Jim Davis.

Most of the last twenty minutes is the chase, as you might guess from the title. It's Langan against Davis and his ever-shrinking cohort, with Kennedy doing the detective work and Langan the pursuit -- and a couple of killings. Given that it's a rare directorial work by two film editors -- Arthur Hilton and Robert Lippert Jr. -- you'd expect it to be visually interesting for the way the chase is edited. Alas, I thought it was something that would appeal to people who know Los Angeles, assuming the movie geography makes sense -- goodness knows, when the movies tackle New York City, it usually bears almost no relationship to my native town.

It seems like the sort of movie that would have had trouble with the Production Code, given the killings and several implied relationships. However, the Hays Office was likely more concerned with the amount of cleavage Jane Russell was showing in her movies; B Studio Lippert was not likely to be gone over in detail. Lon Chaney Jr. Makes an appearance, but the best role goes to Jack Daley as a motel owner who thinks he's geting back with his wife, but is being played for a chump.