zardoz-13 Not did actor Mark Stevens star in "Cry Vengeance," but also he helmed this brooding melodrama about revenge. If you haven't seen Fritz Lang's classic "The Big Heat," you probably won't spot the resemblance between "Cry Vengeance" and it. The premise is strongly reminiscent of Lang's film, except that Stevens and scenarists Warren Douglas of "Torpedo Alley" and George Bricker of "King of the Underworld" take "The Big Heat" premise a step further. Tough Frisco cop Vic Barron (Mark Stevens of "The Dark Corner") lost his wife and daughter during an explosion that left him scarred for life on the right-hand side of his face. Were this not enough of a tragedy, the villains who planted the bomb also planted enough evidence to frame Vic and get him a three-year stretch in San Quentin. Since this unfortunate episode, big-time criminal Tino Morelli (Douglas Kennedy of "The Texas Rangers") has left San Francisco and moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, where he is raising his pre-elementary school age daughter Marie (Cheryl Callaway) with the help Blue-Eyes (Mort Mills of "Psycho") his hoodlum henchman Johnny. As it turns out, Vic is getting out of San Quentin, and he is determined to wrecked vengeance on Morelli. Meantime, nobody in Ketchikan knows Tino's true identity. He is masquerading as an ordinary citizen and he has pretty young, Peggy Harding (Martha Hyer of "The Sons of Katie Elder"), fooled, too. Meantime, Tino's pals warn him that Vic has gotten out, and mobster kingpin Nick Buda (Lewis Martin) assigns psychotic killer Roxy Davis (Skip Homeier) to watch Vic. Vic and Roxy have a history and neither likes the other. What Vic doesn't know about is Roxy's secret, and Buda doesn't want Vic to find out about it. As soon as Vic gets out, he heads to a pawn shop and purchases a revolver. Vic's old pal on the S.F.P.D., Red Miller (John Doucette), tries to persuade Vic to give up his quest. Vic refuses to and learns Tino's whereabouts and flies up to confront him. Trigger happy Roxy follows him with predictable results. "Cry Vengeance" boasts strong performances, authentic locations, loads of atmosphere, and a strong backstory.

robert-temple-1 Mark Stevens was a leading player in B movies, and was an excellent cop in THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948, see my review) and private eye in THE DARK CORNER (1946, see my review), both excellent noirs. Here he got his first chance chance to direct himself. Although he does well enough as a director in other respects, because he could not see himself he probably did not realize that he looked too grim throughout most of the film, never changing his expression during the early portions. This may have made sense in theory, because he a wronged man seeking vengeance, and grief-stricken at the death of his wife and child. But one cannot have a single expression for nearly an hour like that without it becoming monotonous. Stevens furthermore according to the story had to have a severely scarred side of his face, which meant that he could show very little emotion on his face in any case. The film was largely shot at Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska was not even a state at that time, but still a Territory. This was an extremely unusual place to set a film in the 1950s. The location footage, especially the aerial footage, is thus of considerable historical interest, not least to the people who live there today. Mark Stevens went on to direct himself again in TIME TABLE (1956) and directed three more feature films and 50 television drama episodes in the nine years between 1956 and 1965. He last appeared as an actor in 1987, and he died in 1994 at the age of 77. This film is not outstanding, but it is nevertheless a contribution to the noir genre.

Martin Teller What do you do when you get framed for bribery, your face is disfigured and your wife and child are killed? You seek revenge, even if it takes you to Ketchikan, Alaska. Mark Stevens (THE DARK CORNER, THE STREET WITH NO NAME) both stars and makes his directorial debut with a cheapie BIG HEAT knockoff, but it's a tasty little morsel. Stevens gives the best performance I've seen from him, cold and intense, and leads a mighty fine cast of B-roster supporting players. The characters are so engaging that the deaths are tangibly felt by the viewer. Pretty much everyone in this movie is fun to watch, especially Skip Homeier as the suave, menacing gangster and Joan Vohs as his conflicted moll. Even the little girl is good. The film has a terrific rough-and-tumble attitude, with biting dialogue, dark morality, smoky jazz in nightclubs and cheap dives, and lots of fist fights. There's some good exploration of ethical grey area. It could use a little more directorial finesse, but for a first effort it's not too bad and sports a couple of well-shot sequences. Maybe not one of the greats, but it packs a good noir punch.

tnordtvedt I can't say this was a great film, nor can I recommend it to anyone who does not have a familiarity with Ketchikan, Alaska, where it was filmed. Without a tender place in your heart for Alaska's first city, this film will probably not seem too keen to you.But, if you have lived in Ketchikan for any length of time it is a lot of fun to see your hometown as it was nearly 50 years ago. I know this excludes most everyone out there, but hey, I am not recommending it to most everyone. If you know and love Ketchikan, check it out, you will get a kick out of it. Otherwise, skip it.