Walk a Crooked Mile
Encyclopedia
Walk a Crooked Mile is an American film noir
directed by Gordon Douglas
. The drama features Louis Hayward
, Dennis O'Keefe
and Louise Allbritton.
agent Dan O'Hara and Scotland Yard
detective Philip Grayson are on the case.
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."
The staff at Variety
magazine 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."
More recently, critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, but echoing the 1948 New York Times film review, lauded the screenplay, writing, "Writer George Bruce adds a lot of plot twists from a story by Bertram Millhauser. It's a tolerable and unpretentious routine thriller that not only cautions against evil Russian Commie agents but possible American traitors in the scientific community. It was made at a time when the House Un-American Activities Committee
was investigating the government and Hollywood for communist infiltrators and Hollywood was sensitive to showing off to the right-wing politicians and the concerned American public that it was patriotic...Though the acting was vanilla, the melodramatics contrived and the story predictable, there was suspense finding out who was the leaker and the situation was kept plausible. It's not a particularly good film, but it was entertaining. Raymond Burr as one of the more ruthless gung-ho Commie spies makes for a wonderful villain, giving the film some bounce as he tries to kill his lawmen adversaries."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Gordon Douglas
Gordon Douglas (director)
Gordon Douglas was an American film director, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures. He was a native of New York City.-Hal Roach and Our Gang:...
. The drama features Louis Hayward
Louis Hayward
Louis Charles Hayward was a British actor born in South Africa.-Biography:Born in Johannesburg, Hayward began his screen work in British films, notably as Simon Templar in Leslie Charteris' The Saint in New York.] In 1939 he played a dual role in The Man in the Iron Mask.During World War II,...
, Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States...
and Louise Allbritton.
Plot
A spy ring has infiltrated Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics, a Southern California atomic research center. FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent Dan O'Hara and Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detective Philip Grayson are on the case.
Cast
- Louis HaywardLouis HaywardLouis Charles Hayward was a British actor born in South Africa.-Biography:Born in Johannesburg, Hayward began his screen work in British films, notably as Simon Templar in Leslie Charteris' The Saint in New York.] In 1939 he played a dual role in The Man in the Iron Mask.During World War II,...
as Philip 'Scotty' Grayson - Dennis O'KeefeDennis O'KeefeDennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States...
as Daniel F. O'Hara - Louise Allbritton as Dr. Toni Neva
- Carl EsmondCarl EsmondCarl Esmond was an Austrian stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria. His birth name was Willy Eichberger which he later changed to Charles Esmond and finally to Carl Esmond. Like many of his fellow actors, Esmond fled Nazi Germany to England during World War II. Esmond continued to appear on the...
as Dr. Ritter von Stolb - Onslow StevensOnslow StevensOnslow Stevens was an American stage, television and film actor.-Career:Born Onslow Ford Stevenson in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of character actor Housley Stevenson...
as Igor Braun - Raymond BurrRaymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
as Krebs - Art Baker as Dr. Frederick Townsend
- Lowell Gilmore as Dr. William Forrest
- Philip Van ZandtPhilip Van ZandtPhilip "Phil" Van Zandt was a Dutch actor of film, stage and television. He made over 220 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.-Career:...
as Anton Radchek - Charles Evans as Dr. Homer Allen
- Frank FergusonFrank FergusonFrank Ferguson was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Perhaps his best known role was as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name...
as Carl Bemish - Reed HadleyReed HadleyReed Hadley was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York...
as Narrator
Reception
When the film was released, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic, Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
, 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."
The staff at Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine 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."
More recently, critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, but echoing the 1948 New York Times film review, lauded the screenplay, writing, "Writer George Bruce adds a lot of plot twists from a story by Bertram Millhauser. It's a tolerable and unpretentious routine thriller that not only cautions against evil Russian Commie agents but possible American traitors in the scientific community. It was made at a time when the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
was investigating the government and Hollywood for communist infiltrators and Hollywood was sensitive to showing off to the right-wing politicians and the concerned American public that it was patriotic...Though the acting was vanilla, the melodramatics contrived and the story predictable, there was suspense finding out who was the leaker and the situation was kept plausible. It's not a particularly good film, but it was entertaining. Raymond Burr as one of the more ruthless gung-ho Commie spies makes for a wonderful villain, giving the film some bounce as he tries to kill his lawmen adversaries."