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The Big Combo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Big Combo | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | Joseph H. Lewis |
| Produced by | Sidney Harmon |
| Written by | Philip Yordan |
| Starring | Cornel Wilde Richard Conte Brian Donlevy Jean Wallace |
| Music by | David Raksin |
| Cinematography | John Alton |
| Editing by | Robert S. Eisen |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | February 13, 1955 |
| Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Big Combo is an American film noir released in 1955 and directed by Joseph H. Lewis.[1]
According to film critics, The Big Combo' stands with others like Fritz Lang's The Big Heat as one of the great film noir classics.
The dark film is a tormented story of violence and dangerous obsession.
Photographed by cinematographer and noir icon John Alton with music by David Raksin.
Contents |
Policeman Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) is on a personal crusade to bring down sadistic gangster Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). He's also obsessed with a woman (Jean Wallace), Brown's captive lover.
Mr. Brown taunts Diamond every step of the way which seems to make Diamond more obsessed. He says:
- I'm gonna break him so fast he won't have time to change his pants.
Brown's right-hand man, over the hill, hard of hearing and shifty-eyed McClure (Brian Donlevy) plots with gangsters (and possibly lovers) Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman) to overthrow Mr. Brown but ends up getting tortured in a violent scene rare for its time.
Meanwhile Diamond has found a witness that could finally nail the elusive gangster, Mr. Brown's wife - a woman who was thought to have died years ago. The film ends dramatically in a classic foggy airplane hangar shootout.
Actors Wallace and Wilde were married when the film was shot. In fact, they were married from 1951 until their divorce in 1981.
Reviews of the movie today are mostly positive. Chris Dashiell on the website Cinescene finds the dialog "run of the mill" but praises the films director: "... Lewis had a remarkable ability to infuse poetry into the most banal material, and The Big Combo is one of his best efforts... it's not as startlingly inventive as Lewis's best film, Gun Crazy (1949), but it's a quality B-film, satisfying and dark."[2]
- Cornel Wilde as Police Lt. Leonard Diamond
- Richard Conte as Mr. Brown
- Brian Donlevy as Joe McClure
- Jean Wallace as Susan Lowell
- Robert Middleton as Police Capt. Peterson
- Lee Van Cleef as Fante
- Earl Holliman as Mingo
- Helen Walker as Alicia Brown
- Jay Adler as Sam Hill
- John Hoyt as Nils Dreyer
- Ted de Corsia as Bettini
- Leonard Diamond: She's under arrest, Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown: What's the charge? Leonard Diamond: Homicide. Mr. Brown: That's ridiculous, she wouldn't kill a fly. Leonard Diamond: She tried to kill herself Mr. Brown: Is that a crime? Leonard Diamond: It happens to be against two laws: God's and Man's. I'm booking her under the second.
- Rita: A woman doesn't care how a guy makes a living, just how he makes love.
- Mr. Brown: What is it the kids say? You have no personality.
This film noir is considered by many film critics as possibly the best work of legendary cinematographer John Alton.
- ^ The Big Combo at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Cinescene film review.
- The Big Combo at Images Journal.
- Film Noir of the Week.