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Powerful

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Raymond Burr is most famous as the invincible Perry Mason, but in Rear Window we saw him as the villain. In this movie, he has a much bigger villain part, as Rick, and makes much more impression as such. His towering presence is well used, and we hear him presenting his evil plan in a very elegant manner, packaging his plan in the most perfect "nice" expressions.Burr makes my favorite quote from the movie, landed with perfect timing:"He was screaming he wanted out. When a man screams, I don't like it. Especially a friend. He might scream loud enough for the D.A. to hear. I don't want to hurt the D.A's ears.... He's sensitive."On top of this, we have the overall gray and "noir" mood of the picture, about a man with very bad odds (Joe Sullivan/O'Keefe), and two women, one of them his loyal accomplice Pat (Claire Trevor), who is also narrator of the story, and Ann (Marsha Hunt) who is forced to join them. Joe's feelings for the two is the constant worry of Pat, hopelessly in love with Joe. All three do their parts well.A weakness of the movie, showing its age, is that the action scenes are pretty primitive. We have to live with that for movies this old.

Gripping film noir with Dennis O'Keefe as Joe Sullivan, a man who escapes from prison with help from Pat, the woman (Claire Trevor) who's loved him and stuck by him for years. But Joe's fallen in love with a sympathetic caseworker (Marsha Hunt) and forces her to accompany him and Pat as they flee. Meanwhile, Raymond Burr plays the man responsible for Joe being in prison. He owes Joe money and sends a hit-man to make sure Joe doesn't try to collect.A great movie from Anthony Mann. Wonderful script and cast. O'Keefe has arguably the best role of his career here. Trevor's perfect as always. A truly gifted actress who doesn't get as much respect as some of her contemporaries. Marsha Hunt does well with the weakest part in the film. She looks beautiful, which doesn't hurt. Raymond Burr's a sadistic and nasty villain. He has one scene that's pretty shocking for the time and makes the famous coffee-throwing scene from The Big Heat look like a kiss on the cheek. A classic film noir that all fans of the genre should see.

"Raw Deal" from 1958 is directed by Anthony Mann and stars Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr, and John Ireland.The film is narrated by Pat (Trevor), who is the girlfriend of escaped convict Joe (O'Keefe). Joe took the rap for a mob boss, Rick Coyle (Burr) who is supposed to pay him $50,000. Pat helps him escape, but their car breaks down, and the two head for the apartment of a social worker (Hunt) who has visited him in prison. Ann is horrified to see Joe and nearly calls the police. He and Pat take her hostage, with Joe not admitting that he is very attracted to Ann. Pat picks up on it, and is jealous.Meanwhile, Rick sends his henchman (John Ireland) and others out to make sure Joe is murdered so he won't have to see him.This is a very good noir and a stereotypical one. The narration and dialogue as spoken by Claire Trevor has the sound of something you'd see on In Living Color and the old Carol Burnett Show. Now, in a noir, they fit the style beautifully - later, of course, this type of dialogue was used for comedy. Tough dialogue like: "It's the daily fight that everyone has. To get food and an education, to land a job and keep it. And some self-respect. 'Safe'? I never asked for anything safe. All I want is... just a little decency, that's all!" Perfect.Anthony Mann's excellent direction moves this film right along and builds suspense. It's a violent film, yet most of the violence is in our imagination. Mann kept moving up the director ladder, but in his early days directed some terrific noirs.The cast is excellent, with Trevor's aging floosie, desperately in love with Joe, a standout. Hunt is lovely in a sincere performance as a naive woman. I saw her a couple of years ago at Paramount's 100th anniversary and at 95, she looks wonderful and was delightful. Raymond Burr is mean as dirt, and Ireland is an effective associate. O'Keefe wasn't an exciting actor, though he holds his own in this. Though he's the lead, it's not the showiest role. He was attractive and at his best in light comedy, though he evidently loved this type of film and did a few that were successful.Very good noir with interesting photography and a real edge to it.

Good, tough stuff from director Anthony Mann and a real film noir to use that battered term. Dennis O'Keefe is Joe Sullivan, small-time crook who has taken the fall for bigger-time crook Raymond Burr as Rick Coyle. Coyle sets up a breakout for Sullivan, figuring the chances are very good Sullivan will be killed in the escape, eliminating a nagging concern Coyle has that he may be a target for revenge when Sullivan gets out. Enter Claire Trevor (need I say more) as Sullivan's girl and voice/over narrator. Marsha Hunt is on hand to make sure we don't think all women are bad, and the unlikely trio hit the road stealing taxis,evading roadblocks,and hi-jacking gas station vehicles. It's moody, well-shot and moves along like a '48 Buick. This is the kind of movie that you're waiting for Whit Bissell to show up. He does. O'Keefe is always effective in this type of grim and grit and John Ireland is a hard-to-kill thug, a type that he excelled at. Burr is on target as a weaselly crime creep with an interest in flame. This one is worth anyone's time, particularly if you love the genre. The script isn't much, but these are pros who can bring it off. But the title should have been "Corkscrew Alley".