A deadly prison break sends two convicts in different directions, the instigator (Harvey), vicious and bucking for the electric chair, heads to San Fran, the other (Langton), a trustee forced at gunpoint to drive the getaway, treks to a roadhouse in San Maria where Gruber's ex-girlfriend works (Downs) and rendezvous is planned. But before the reunion, Coulter, a war Marine and Jean Gabin of the San Joaquin, will "find a new slant" on life, befriending the locals and winning the heart of Miss Novak.
This is a dark one, due largely to the fact that nearly the entire film (76m) is shot at night, a tension builder. It's also the homiest noir you'll ever see, the characters at Dillon's so likeable you almost wish you were in Johnny's spot, even as the poor guy is a nervous wreck waiting on his nut-job nemesis. There is Maggie (Kerby), proprietor & mother figure, a bit crusty but always a song in her big heart; Georgie (Weeks), the naughty niece & gun moll aspirant ("I like a he-man!") who keeps missing her bus to the big city; the Shaws, cute couple who return each year to relax & entertain, Louisa (Callejo) a doctor and dancer, Alec (Auer) a cabbie and Renaissance man, a charmed act that could've earned him a 2d Oscar nom (Godfrey); Smitty (Bohnen) (Best Years) is the decorated seaman turned café cook whose binging hides a sad secret, and Hope, pretty femme swell true to her name whose rough start in life (dad split, mom died) left her to drift, work seedy joints and hook-up with a hoodlum. But now the angels have lighted, Maggie is her guide, Johnny her Galahad and all is possible.
John Reinhardt (b Vienna), husband of Elizabeth (Laura), directs on a screenplay by Robert Presnell whose catalog includes Meet John Doe, My Man Godfrey & Employees Entrance. Die marked their third teaming in 1947 alone, preceded by The Guilty and High Tide, all around 70 minutes and well received. Watch for familiar face Rory Mallinson as Mac the cop and Tommy Noonan in a bad boy role (stick-up). You "can't put ketchup on it" but I check-in at this cozy noir at least once a year (3.5/4).
