Most great film noir have a dame. Raw Deal ups the ante by having not one, but two of them to contend with its dark, brooding hero. The hero in this case is Joe Sullivan, a crook who is doing a stint in prison for taking the heat for his pal Rick. The first woman is Pat, his main squeeze. She helps bust him out of prison in an escape orchestrated by Rick. The second woman is Ann, a social worker who tried to reform Joe while he was in prison. The three go on the run from the law and the mob. It turns out the Rick set up the escape so that Joe would get killed. Now that Joe is free, he does everything in his power to take him down. This is standard noir stuff, from the doomed love affair (or triangle, in this case) right down to the moody inner narratives spoken over the sound of a theremin. Cinematographer John Alton comes out swinging, providing some of the best work of his career. But it can't elevate the bare bones story to greatness. As it stands, Raw Deal is standard, yet still enjoyable, pulp fare.
6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment