Watch Desperate For Free

Nice effects though.

Let's be realistic.

Awesome Movie

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

After being unwittingly dragged into a heist that goes gone wrong truck driver Steve Randall ( Steve Brodie) and wife Ann (Audrey Long) take it on the lam not only to escape the police but also Radak (Raymond Burr) who wants to revenge his brother getting the chair.One of a handful of well made B noirs made by director Anthony Mann in the forties Desperate is a bit of a threadbare They Live by Night with Brodie and Long giving decent performances as the on the run duo and Burr and imposing one as the cold sadistic thug. Mann moves the film at a brisk enough pace while he and cinematographer George Dyskant provide some of their standard noir canvases, especially a staircase finale, to amp up suspense.

Desperate (1947) *** (out of 4) Exciting noir has truck driver Steve (Steve Brodie) framed for a heist job that resulted in a cop being killed. Steve takes his pregnant wife (Audrey Long) and hits the road to try and get her to safety from the gangster (Raymond Burr) who wants them dead. This film starts off so light-hearted that it pretty much takes you by surprise when things start to heat up because it happens so quick that you barely have time to even get to know the characters. The film plays out a lot like a Hitchcock film would as we've got an innocent man set-up by the crooked one and then the innocent man goes on the run and just keeps finding himself in more and more trouble. The film has our hero going through so much that you can't help but feel sorry for him and at a point you have to wonder if in the real world anyone would have this much bad luck. Mann's direction is the real standout here as he does a terrific job at building up the suspense as Steve gets further and further in trouble. One of the best scenes in the film is when he buys a used car only to get ripped off and has to turn to stealing it. The car eventually breaks down but he gets a ride with a kind old man who just happens to be the sheriff. Not only does this sequence build up some nice suspense but it also has a bit of humor as even our characters start to wonder why all of this is happening. I was surprised to see how good Brodie was here as he has the perfect qualities to carry off the role. He was very believable as the caring husband and we also believed him when he had to play it tough. Brodie is probably best remembered for his various noir roles but horror fans will also remember him from the God-awful FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND. Burr also turns in a fine performance as that terrific voice just makes for the perfect bad guy. Douglas Fowley, William Challee and Freddie Steele add nice support as does Jason Robards as a detective. The only one I didn't care for was Long who was just too annoying for me. The terrific black and white cinematography perfectly builds up a nice atmosphere and Mann's style certainly carries things for the short 73-minute running time. One of the best moments happens early on with a trick shot of a punch being thrown towards the camera. This really kicks things off and the film never lets up.

Saw this at the Noir Festival at the American Cinematheque. Very fast paced. This was Mann's breakthrough--the festival's programmer said Mann extensively rewrote the script, quipping he felt desperate himself to break out of the Bs. It wasn't long before Mann was launched on a long career doing westerns and spectacles.Burr is the standout, playing a gang boss whose desperation to save his brother from the gallows drives the plot. Burr plays menace like no one else can! If you like his gruff cop on the Pat Novak radio show of the same period you'll love him in this film.The ending sequence of a gunfight on a dark staircase is noir bravura, with residents of the apartment building hiding from the mayhem after peeking out. Also a standout is an earlier scene in a dark room with one light swinging back and forth as the hero is dealt a brutal beating and all you see is Burr and a grim confederate looking on as the light swings back and forth with dark puddles of shadow on their faces while you hear the violence. YEOW!

...Anthony Mann made remarkable film noirs."Desperate" is not your average "gangsters movie" .It's valid drama,and Mann's heroes are the boy-next-door and his wife.The gangsters ,most of the time,work behind the stage,and Mann makes us feel all Steve's trials ,fleeing both the Police and a gangster out for revenge (the relationship between the two brothers is only sketched ,and it's the only flaw of an excellent screenplay).Steve is a good guy,a victim,not unlike William Irish's (aka Cornell Woolrich's) characters ,and the audience sides with him all along the way.Remakable scenes: -The arrival at the aunt's farm and the wedding.-Steve's last meal and the insistent ticking of a clock.Like this? try these...."You only live once" Fritz Lang ,1936 "They live by night" Nicholas Ray ,1948 "Tomorrow is another day" Felix Feist ,1952