Watch For You I Die For Free

Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Its basically the old story of some prisoners on the run but manages to rise above what you would expect. The leads, little known Paul Langton and beautiful smoky-voiced Cathy Downs, are terrific together and deliver quality performances. All of the acting is generally good and as the film progresses you will get interested in the characters and what happens to them.Much is said about the darkness of the film's available prints but it takes place mostly at night and to me the dark nature of the story is suitable for old faded dark film stock, but yes it does need a good restoration someday. The copy I bought was viewable and good enough.Somehow this film, rather than the usual claustrophobic look of many studio-bound cheaply made films of the era, has managed to convert the closeness and night into an intimacy and immediateness that uses the "smallness" to its advantage. Very few small films are able to achieve this.Taught and well-acted by an ensemble cast, "For You I Die" breaks out of the black and white cheapie mold and is far above being just another obscure second bill throwaway.

Unless you're a Mischa Auer fan (I'm not), your enjoyment of this minor 1947 film noir will depend on how eager you are to see every noir escapade that Hollywood ever made. True, the lovely Cathy Downs does make her presence felt when she's on screen, but that doesn't happen very often. Mostly the script focuses on the lead man, Paul Langton (competent but somewhat lacking in personality), or the garrulous Marion Kerby. Yes, super-sexy Jane Weeks gets an occasional close-up, and Mischa Auer certainly manages to waste a fair amount of our time with pointless "comedy relief", but it's mostly Langton's film and he lacks the charisma to carry it. Dull direction by John Reinhardt doesn't help, but cameraman William Clothier does his best to give this minor entry an appropriately dark, noirish atmosphere.

There used to be a secure niche in the movies for these inexpensive little B features in the 30s and 40s. The A feature would be some splashy, well-publicized show announced in overwhelming big red letters: "LEAVE HER TO LIMBO" or something, usually "based on the best selling novel" by F. Scott Bostwick. In between showings of the A feature, there would be a short black-and-white little movie, often about crime or cowboys. They frequently had titles like "Blondie Goes to Hollywood" but some of them were dandies They usually provided work for promising newcomers or old pros whose bones were beginning to creak. (Karl Freund, who was the photographer on Fritz Lang's "Metropolis", wound up shooting "I Love Lucy.") This one isn't a dandy but it's earnest enough. It's about a disillusioned inmate, Paul Langton, who escapes from prison and finds himself stuck in a road house run by the watchful and forbearing Marian Kerby, a Ma Joad for the common man. Her tiny family of guests and relatives is diverse and familiar. There is the blond hootchy-kootchy floozie, the hypomanic Russian that Mischa Auer always played, the drunken but affectionate old cook, and finally the girl of the fugitive's dreams, Cathy Downs.The performances aren't particularly bad. Langton will be a familiar face to movie buffs, though they may have a hard time placing him. He hooked into some conspicuous supporting parts in a handful of popular war movies. He was Ski in "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," the barber who tries to cut Alan Hale's hair in "Destination Tokyo," and one of the sailors in "They Were Expendable." Always a likable and reliable player, his career never went anywhere. He's the lead here, a kind of bitter everyman, but if he's not dynamic, he's not an insult to his art either.Cathy Downs, an ex model, was an attractive young woman with a deep and honest voice. She was the object of Wyatt Earp's affections in "My Darling Clementine" and here -- less distant and reserved, with her hair down -- looks a little like Ella Raines. One can imagine why Langton finds her attractive.In fact, one can imagine that this might have been a far better movie if it had had double the budget and a bit more talent behind the camera. It was shot by the expert William Clothier, but the director is John Reinhardt. His work is pedestrian. Whenever a group comes together, they stand as if staged for a tableau vivant. Let's see -- Langton, you stand there, and Marian over there, and Cathy, get close to Auer and stare at Langton. Good -- now, nobody move. The drunken cook is Roman Bohnen and he makes little impression although he's capable of doing a good job in the right part, as when he reads Dana Andrews' commendations aloud towards the end of "The Best Years of Our Lives." It was written by Robert Presnell in a strictly functional manner but one feels that he's repressing some of the zest he brought to movies like "Meet John Doe." In a dull comic scene, Auer pretends to be conducting a recording of some orchestral work by Brahms and Langton complains that you can't put ketchup on it. "My friend," says the ever exuberant Auer, "if you had a million bucks in the bank, Brahms' music would not be more beautiful!" It's not much but it's a palpable hit. There are a few other examples, including a dramatic conversational exchange that incorporates that silly sounding title.I could be wrong but I'm left with the feeling that someone brought out a script, said "Make this in ten days," and then threw it in the direction of the wrong man.

Another in the list of solidly made B movies, FOR YOU I DIE is very much worth seeking out. This taut little Film Noir has good actors and a fine, dark atmosphere. Paul Langton is excellent as down-and-out Johnny Coulter, newly escaped from prison, but basically a decent guy. His companion, seen briefly in the film's shadowy opening, is Mac (Rory Mallinson), a hard-as-nails con-type who instructs Johnny to head alone to the restaurant where Mac's girlfriend Hope works. Nervous Johnny arrives and is immediately misled by floozy Jane Weeks as Georgie, who pretends to be Hope in order to seduce handsome Johhny. As the real Hope (symbolic name, no doubt), Cathy Downs is a standout, avoiding all the good-girl clichés and creating a believable character. Other very good performers in the film are Marion Kerby, Mischa Auer and Roman Bohnen. These actors give their all in what was most likely just a low-budget production. Director John Reinhardt keeps the pace fast and the details interesting, and William Clothier does some nice things with obscure, Noir lighting effects. A top-notch minor Noir, whose theme is the enjoyment of what life offers for free.