calvinnme Lloyd Hallett (Robinson) has developed a case against the murderous Mafia kingpin Benjamin Costain (Lorne Greene, in his second film) to have him deported, because they can't get him indicted for any of his other crimes. Trouble is, all his other witnesses who could have testified against Costain have been killed. Sherry Conley (Rogers) who is serving a prison term, is their last chance to get him deported. She is offered a carrot - commutation of her sentence and a comfy hotel room with food much better than she had in prison. Will that be enough to get her to go through with testifying? If she lives? Watch and find out.Rogers is excellent as an aging model/gangster's moll who was too softhearted in the past, and is paying for her decisions. Whether she's being sarcastic or dodging bullets, Rogers gives one of her best performances.Robinson is matter of fact and businesslike in his role. Hallett's job is his life, and Robinson gets that across to the viewer. It's close to the role he played in "Double Indemnity" (1944), but Robinson makes the cardboard role human.Brian Keith is very good in his role as the Fed who's at first disgusted with Sherry, then starts to care for her.Lorne Green is one great menacing scumbag. Who knew the future wise papa of the Ponderosa had it in him? The shadowy cinematography is by Burnett Guffey, who also did the photography for "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967). The taut script was by William Bowers. Absolutely a hidden gem of noir, done by that economical studio, Columbia, which was full of good surprises such as this one, during the studio system era.

jacobs-greenwood I must have had some expectations about this one since I DVR'd it when it was on TCM. Not sure if it was just a title I didn't recognize, or the fact that it featured Edward G. Robinson, who's always good. In any case, even though it doesn't really cover any new territory, it does contain some fine performances by Eddie G., its other headliners Ginger Rogers and Brian Keith, and also its supporting cast which includes Lorne Greene, Katherine Anderson, Doye O'Dell, and Eve McVeagh as Rogers's estranged sister.Rogers plays streetwise and sassy Sherry Conley, who's in prison where she's serving the last 11 months of a 5-year sentence until government prosecutor Lloyd Hallett (Robinson) has her moved to a luxury penthouse apartment the weekend before his big case to export gangster Benjamin Costain (Greene). The well-connected gang leader had successfully eliminated all previous witnesses to his criminal activities, the last just before his extradition trial, hence Hallett's desperate and expensive enticements to get Sherry to testify. She's treated to room service meals, hot showers, her own room and even gets to watch television, though there's only a telethon with a goofy cowboy (O'Dell) on the air.While each of the aforementioned characters is in a "tight spot", it's then revealed that Vince Striker (Keith) is perhaps in the "tightest" spot of all. He's the cop assigned to protect Sherry, even though he's been on the take from Costain for 10 years. Vince, who's initially dismissive of Sherry calling her "sister", becomes more and more attracted to her as they hole up in the apartment over the weekend. Both are lonely and rough edged individuals who find a mutual physical attraction as well. Vince not only buys Sherry a dress, he actually protects her from one of Costain's thugs, killing him in the process but not before Sherry and prison matron Willoughby (Anderson) are wounded in the process.It's Willoughby's subsequent death from her injuries that enrages Sherry so much that she agrees to testify, forcing Vince to make a fateful decision.

seymourblack-1 "Tight Spot" is a crime drama about the events that take place during the period in which a district attorney tries to persuade a female convict to testify against a ruthless gangster in a deportation case. The woman's life is constantly under threat and the attorney is desperate or her to co-operate because, if she doesn't, he knows he won't be able to do anything else to curtail the activities of the notorious mobster.Lloyd Hallett (Edward G Robinson) is the D.A. who arranges for Sherry Conley (Ginger Rogers) to be removed from prison and transferred to a heavily guarded hotel room where Detective Lieutenant Vince Striker (Brian Keith) takes charge of ensuring that she remains alive long enough to be able to testify in the case against Ben Costain (Lorne Greene).Sherry had been on Costain's yacht with her friend Pete Tonelli (Alfred Linder) somewhere in the West Indies when another foreign gangster that Costain had illegally brought into the U.S. was also on board. Costain had been very smart in ensuring that he couldn't be directly linked to any of his various crimes and so the opportunity to get him deported for breaching the terms under which he was allowed into the country, was the best option open to Hallett. Sherry, however, isn't open to persuasion and her decision not to cooperate is reinforced when she learns that Tonelli had been gunned down by Costain's men after he'd agreed to testify.During her time in the hotel room, Sherry survives a couple of attempts on her life and also enjoys ordering expensive food as well as flirting with Striker who's also attracted to her. The extremely determined Lloyd Hallett attempts to get Sherry to change her mind by conscripting the assistance of her sister but this approach also fails badly. Will the offer of having her sentence commuted finally be enough to induce Sherry to testify or will some other development be critical in enabling Hallett to achieve his objective? "Tight Spot" was based on the play "Dead Pigeon" by Leonard Kantor and looks stagy as most of the action takes place in one location (the hotel room). The advantage of this type of presentation, however, is that it emphasises very naturally, how trapped Sherry remains even when she's out of prison and makes her situation seem even more dangerous because she can neither avoid the attentions of those who want to kill her or escape from her surrogate prison cell.The best feature of this movie is the quality of its cast who through their performances elevate a rather ordinary story into something more entertaining than it would otherwise have been. Ginger Rogers is very brash and loud-mouthed as the ex-model and gangster's moll who fell foul of the law through being a "chump" and Edward G Robinson has a great on-screen presence. Lorne Greene looks very imposing and dynamic in his role and Brian Keith does a great job as Striker, who is cynical, corrupt and conflicted and eminently more interesting than any of the other characters. When he starts to unravel, the torment that he goes through is palpable.Although it's not one of the best movies of its kind, "Tight Spot" is still very enjoyable, primarily because of its talented cast.

LeonLouisRicci Everyone from the Director to the Well Worn Stars have done Better than this Half-Baked concoction of ill conceived notions in a mostly Chamber Pot Set. The Claustrophobia is ruined by cheap shots at Television that lighten the proceedings way too much.There are some effective Scenes and Set-Ups that evoke Film-Noir, but don't be fooled, this is another of those Fifties Crime Stories that are only echoes of that Cynical and Dark Post-War Genre. By the Mid-Fifties the Ambiance of Noir was Fading Fast and Purist will find only a few Films that can proudly be welcomed in the Pantheon.Ginger Rogers is the thing here. It is Her Movie and nothing will get in the way. More than a few times, in this Mediocre Movie, She goes over the top and leaves everyone else and everything trying to catch up. It all becomes rather tedious with some Standout Stuff peppering the proceedings. Worth a Watch but it it is an almost realized Success that never quite is.