Walk a Crooked Mile

Walk a Crooked Mile is a 1948 anti-communism, Cold War film noir crime film, directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Dennis O'Keefe and Louis Hayward.

Walk a Crooked Mile
Theatrical release lobby card
Directed byGordon Douglas
Screenplay byGeorge Bruce
Story byBertram Millhauser
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byReed Hadley
Cinematography
Edited byJames E. Newcom
Music byPaul Sawtell
Production
company
Edward Small Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • September 2, 1948 (1948-09-02) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Soon after solid leads come to light about a communist spy ring infiltrating the Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics, a Southern California atomic research center, FBI Agent Dan O'Hara (Dennis O'Keefe) teams up with Scotland Yard Detective Philip Grayson (Louis Hayward) to hunt down the perpetrators responsible for the leak, and at least one of the scientists at the nuclear lab is suspected to be involved in the clandestine, espionage operation.

Cast

Production

The film was originally titled FBI vs Scotland Yard but this was changed at the request of J. Edgar Hoover.[1] Exteriors are mostly from San Francisco but the film starts with exteriors from Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California.[2][3]

Reception

When the film was released, The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, while giving the film mixed review, wrote well of the screenplay, "No use to speak of the action or the acting. It's strictly routine. But the plot is deliberately sensational."[4]

The staff at Variety gave the film a favorable review, writing, "Action swings to San Francisco and back to the southland, punching hard all the time under the knowledgeable direction of Gordon Douglas. On-the-site filming of locales adds authenticity. George Bruce has loaded his script with nifty twists that add air of reality to the meller doings in the Bertram Millhauser story. Dialog is good and situations believably developed, even the highly contrived melodramatic finale. Documentary flavor is forwarded by Reed Hadley's credible narration chore."[5]

References
  1. Scheuer, Philip K. (Aug 23, 1948). "Dennis O'Keefe Costar of Small's 'Dark Page;' Carmen, Wally Reunited". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
  2. CitySleuth (August 18, 2019). "Walk A Crooked Mile - 1 - Red Scare". Reel SF. Retrieved 11 April 2022. San Francisco movie locations from classic films
  3. CitySleuth (March 29, 2020). "Walk A Crooked Mile - 9 - Pier 36". Reel SF. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  4. Crowther, Bosly. The New York Times, film review, October 13, 1948. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
  5. Variety, film review. September 2, 1949. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.