Dead Reckoning

1946
Approved
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

9.2K

YOUR RATING

Dynamite trailer for this Bogart classic

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1 Video

99 Photos

Film Noir Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

A soldier runs away to avoid receiving the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate. Romance and death soon follow.A soldier runs away to avoid receiving the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate. Romance and death soon follow.A soldier runs away to avoid receiving the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate. Romance and death soon follow.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

9.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Bellboy
(uncredited)

John Bohn

Croupier
(uncredited)

Paul Bradley

Man
(uncredited)

Barbara Brewster

Mrs. Simpson - Lt. Col. Simpson's Wife
(uncredited)

Ruby Dandridge

Mabel
(uncredited)

Sayre Dearing

Croupier
(uncredited)

Harry Denny

Dealer
(uncredited)

Dudley Dickerson

Room Service Waiter
(uncredited)

Tom Dillon

Priest
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The film was originally intended by Columbia Pictures' production chief Harry Cohn as a vehicle for Rita Hayworth, a follow-up to the extremely popular Gilda (1946). Cohn thought that the pairing of Hayworth and Humphrey Bogart would be a guaranteed money maker. However, Hayworth was in the middle of a contract dispute with Columbia, and refused to make the film, so she was replaced by Lizabeth Scott, who was borrowed from Paramount Pictures' producer Hal B. Wallis.

Goofs
Rip is severely beaten by the gun thug and has cuts near his eyebrow and on his cheek. When he goes to Coral's place, the injuries are still there. He's said to have slept 36 hours but, after waking and shaving, there's no sign of the wounds.

Quotes
Rip Murdock: You know, the trouble with women is they ask too many questions. They should spend all their time just being beautiful.
Coral Chandler: And let the men do the worrying.
Rip Murdock: Yeah. You know, I've been thinking: women ought to come capsule-sized, about four inches high. When a man goes out of an evening, he just puts her in his pocket and takes her along with him, and that way he knows exactly where she is. He gets to his favorite restaurant, he puts her on the table and lets her run around among the coffee cups while he swaps a few lies with his pals...
Coral Chandler: Why...
Rip Murdock: Without danger of interruption. And when it comes that time of the evening when he wants her full-sized and beautiful, he just waves his hand and there she is, full-sized.
Coral Chandler: Why, that's the most conceited statement I've ever heard.
Rip Murdock: But if she starts to interrupt, he just shrinks her back to pocket-size and puts her away.
Coral Chandler: I understand. What you're saying is: women are made to be loved.
Rip Murdock: Is THAT what I'm saying?
Coral Chandler: Yes, it's a confession. A woman may drive you out of your mind, but you wouldn't trust her, and because you couldn't put her in your pocket, you get all mixed up.

Connections
Edited into This Is It (2009)

Soundtracks
Either It's Love or It Isn't
By Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher
Performed by Trudy Stevens (uncredited)
[Coral (Lizabeth Scott) sings the song at the nightclub while she's seated with Rip]

User reviews115

Review

Featured review

7/10

No classic but very enjoyable nevertheless.

By the way he talks Humphrey Bogart thinks he's still Sam Spade and that Lizabeth Scott is Mary Astor but "Dead Reckoning" is no "Maltese Falcon". Nevertheless this convoluted film-noir is still extremely enjoyable if a little hard to follow. It was directed by John Cromwell in 1947 and while Mr Cromwell was no John Huston he was no slouch either so the film moves at a fairly professional clip and is never less than entertaining.

If there's a problem it probably lies in the over-egged script and the purple prose, courtesy of no less than five writers and that includes producer Sidney Biddell who came up with the original story. Bogart is excellent as always and there's nice work from Morris Carnovsky as a bad guy but Lizabeth Scott was certainly no Mary Astor and at times you wonder if her 'bad acting' is bad acting or just 'bad acting', if you get my drift. For some reason the film isn't much seen these days which is a pity because, while no classic, it really is a lot of fun.