The red noose
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The red noose |
| Original title | The Big Steal |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1949 |
| length | 71 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Don Siegel |
| script |
Gerald Drayson Adams , Daniel Mainwaring |
| production |
Jack J. Gross for RKO Pictures |
| music | Leigh Harline |
| camera | Harry J. Wild |
| cut | Samuel E. Beetley |
| occupation | |
| |
The red noose is an American crime film directed by Don Siegel from 1949, which is classified as a film noir . It is based on the short story The Road to Carmichael's by Richard Wormser .
action
Army payroll Lieutenant Duke Halliday was stolen $ 300,000 worth of payroll. The perpetrator is the fraudster Jim Fiske. Halliday is then accused by his superior, Captain Blake. having been an accomplice in the theft himself. Halliday then sees no other way out than to pursue Fiske, who has fled to Mexico , and so clean up his reputation. In Vera Cruz he meets Joan Graham, Jim Fiske's girlfriend, to whom he still owes $ 2,000. To get their money back, Duke and Joan form an alliance, but are initially unsure whether they can trust each other. While they initially unsuccessfully pursue Fiske and cannot catch up with his lead, Captain Blake clings to their heels. When Halliday finally caught up with Fiske, he was knocked down and taken to the police station. Halliday poses as Captain Blake to Police Chief General Ortega, who is chasing after someone who has fled. Ortega lets Duke and Joan go, but puts an observer on them. A little later, the real Captain Blake appears at Ortega, which reinforces his suspicions.
Duke and Joan can again put Fiske in a lonely house in the desert. Here Fiske meets with Julius Seton, a criminal who offers him 150,000 "clean" US dollars for the $ 300,000 payroll. Duke and Joan are captured by Seton's henchmen and face death. Therefore, Duke is initially happy that his superior Blake appears - but this turns out to be the real accomplice of Fiske. Halliday was made a scapegoat by him.
Fiske wants to take Joan with him, but Blake refuses because she could betray him. He wants to get rid of both Duke and Joan, and after some persuasion, Fiske also agrees. Blake shoots Fiske in the back as he tries to leave the house so he can get all the money. He telephones Ortega that he finally caught the criminal Fiske. Still imprisoned Duke Halliday explains to troubled Julius Seton that Blake might want to get rid of him too, because Blake could then return the stolen $ 300,000 to the army while secretly keeping the $ 150,000. Seton then points a gun at Blake. As intended by Duke, a fight breaks out, which he and Joan win. After all, the two are lovers.
background
The film was shot around the time Mitchum was serving a minor sentence for possession of marijuana . Therefore, Don Siegel, the young director of the film, shot all scenes without him while Mitchum was imprisoned. The film was partly shot on location in Mexico. His success with critics and audiences helped establish Don Siegel as a director of thrillers and action films.
Lizabeth Scott was initially intended for the female lead, but turned down a role at Mitchum's side because of the marijuana scandal, as she feared for her image. Then Howard Hughes , the studio boss of RKO, cast his former lover Jane Greer in the lead role. Greer and Mitchum had already shot the classic film Golden Poison together with great success two years earlier . Hughes thought the role of Joan at Mitchum's side was ungrateful and wanted revenge on Greer.
synchronization
In the German dubbed version, Wolfgang Lukschy speaks the Lt. Halliday ( Robert Mitchum ), Alfred Balthoff can be heard as Julius Seton ( John Qualen ).
Reviews
Cinema was very positive: "Great recipe: a noir thriller with beautiful women, nasty gangsters and funny screwball elements", the film is a "furious thriller jewel". The lexicon of international films wrote: “Mixture of adventure and gangster film with exciting car chases through Mexico. Loosened up by humor so much that the film almost takes on a parodic note. "
Web links
- The red loop in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jeff Stafford: The Big Steal (1949) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
- ↑ "The Red Loop" Trivia of the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "The Red Loop" in the German synchronous files
- ↑ Review of "Die Rote Schlinge" at Cinema
- ↑ The red noose. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 27, 2017 .