drjgardner All the mistaken comments about "Dead Reckoning" being "film noir" prompts my review. Though there are certainly elements of film noir here (e.g, femme fatale, rainy scenes, night scenes, double crosses, post WW 2 production) there are also some significant omissions. For example, the big city element is missing. It's not an essential element (as is the femme fatale), but it is one of the main elements to look for. Also missing is the motley crew of bad guys. Here we have a duo, both of whom qualify, but the best film noir have a bunch of evil doers rather than a mere duo.We're also missing the cop/detective/insurance investigator, but Bogart's military man on a mission might qualify.But the two essential features that are missing are (a) the unfortunate ending for the protagonist, and (b) the protagonists' contribution to his own ill fate. Without these elements there is no true film noir. The film may be bleak or melodramatic, and it may even be nourish (as noted above), but it fails to be the classic film noir.In addition, Bogart's personality in this film veers away from the classic film noir protagonist. He's an award winning serviceman, with a pretty upbeat attitude, and a successful businessman. Of course he's also Bogart, so he brings with him so many of the film noir characteristics that we can be forgiven to see that in this film he is different.

Chase_Witherspoon Superb film noir incorporates the poetic, metaphoric dialogue that Bogart delivers so well, and the husky brogue of femme fatale Lizabeth Scott, as a sad-eyed singer and magnet for murder. Bogart is a returned serviceman who, along with GI buddy Prince, are about to receive medals for gallantry in the field of combat. But before they can be awarded, Prince does a runner, concealing a sinister background that ultimately leads Bogart to follow his trail. Along the way, he encounters the enigmatic Dusty (Scott - very Bacall 'esque) a reluctant acquaintance of corrupt casino owner Martinelli (Carnovsky) and his ape 'friend' Krause (Miller). Several plot twists later, Bogart finds himself a target, surrounded by villains, desperate to identify the puppet master.Great use of lighting, genuine-looking sets, and sympathetic supporting performances (Charles Cane as the beleaguered Lt Kincaid is a likable adversary) complement the might of Bogart and Scott, their screen presence all consuming. The scene in which Bogart and Scott take their last ride is a cracker, but unfortunately, the theatrical death scene that follows, isn't so engaging.Carnovsky and Miller make an odd couple of villains, but both equally memorable in their own brand - Carnovsky, the reluctant aggressor, composed and calculated, Miller, the antithesis of composure, ready to crack at the first opportunity. His penchant for 'music' when delivering beatings is a novel twist and the hiding he unleashes is slow and sadistic. As with a number of other film noir, director Cromwell has employed offbeat, unique aspects for distinction; here, most of the narrative is delivered by way of Bogart relaying a retrospective to a priest, as he desperately searches for an escape strategy. It's riveting stuff all the way, perhaps only denied greatness by a (in relative terms) weak conclusion.Classic film noir, not as well appreciated as "Dark Passage" or "The Big Sleep" (a couple of my other favourites), but highly entertaining.

jc-osms Don't you just love those film noir titles that just reach out and grab your interest, despite having no direct relevance to the movie content...? Obviously, like the pulp fiction book-source, it's a device to attract casual interest from passers-by looking at cinema-hoardings or book displays. This is definitely one of those and moreover director John Cromwell, not one I'd regard as being in the Hollywood pantheon, somehow manages to get his name above the title too.Good for him, because this is a cracking and mostly pulsating film noir, led by the inimitable Bogart again immersing himself in a meaty role, ostensibly a demobbed army captain but evidentially a sub-Sam Spade type adventurer who gets up to his neck in danger as he attempts to track down his army-buddy-with-a-secret Johnny and taking in encounters with a gambling-den boss, his hired muscle who gets up close and personal in a far from pleasant way with Bogart's face and Lizabeth Scott as the femme fatale playing both ends as you would expect.The movie starts with a straight-away drop-in to the action leading up, you just know it, to a lengthy flashback from Bogie, involving a fairly contrived unburdening of not quite his soul to an ex-forces padre. The background story is raw and pacy enough to hold your interest pretty much all the way through with taut and edgy dialogue, natch, only lapsing a little when Scott & Bogart apparently hitch their wagons together and get all starry-eyed. Not to worry, a quick look at your watch tells you there are still 20 minutes or so to go and you know you're in for an exciting guns (and fires) - blazing finish.Bogart's great as per...and Scott is just fine for the most part in her Bacall-clone part, all smoky eyes and voice, even getting into a noir-trademark white outfit (a la Stanwyck & Turner) for the second half, although she acts a pretty poor deathbed scene in the final reel and can't lip-synch her early-on torch song for toffee. The villains don't exactly come across as villainous however, which lightens the tension a tad, the henchman in particular wimping out when Bogart sets fire to the boss's apartment - you'll laugh out loud (as I did) at his pathetic scream as he exits through a window.Nevertheless, the movie crackles along satisfactorily until its downbeat er... reckoning and employs and respects enough noir conventions to keep aficionados happy...including me.

JohnWelles I remember John Cromwell's "Dead Reckoning" (1947) for two reasons. The first is that it was my first ever "Film Noir", a genre I now know and love (one of my favourite films of all time is "The Maltese Falcon"). The other is that it was my first film with Humphrey Bogart, an actor who I very much like, having seen him in such classics as "Casablanca". The film has your usual Film Noir traits: femme fatale, seedy night clubs, mobsters, flashback narrative, and paranoia. Also there is some nice black and white camera-work. Bogart is great, Lizabeth Scott is alright if I remember correctly (I haven't seen the film for a while), and most of the supporting cast do everything just right. The plot isn't very original, but it dose it job. A film that most people will like, and its a good introduction to the Film Noir genre.