Private Hell 36

First off, great title. The film, about a pair of cops investigating a robbery and tempted by corruption, is not the greatest but it's solid. Rather slim on action, it's more of a character piece, and the pacing can be drag at times. Easily the highlight is Ida Lupino as the world-weary lounge singer who helps with the investigation, and gets involved with Steve Cochran. As a whole the film is rather uneven, but there are some good moments, especially during the key turning points in the story.

So much about this movie doesn't work. The plot is all out of whack. The inciting incident is actually partially obscured BY THE OPENING CREDITS! The film soon slows to a crawl until literally the last minutes. This seems more like a vanity film for Lupino and writer/producer/then-husband Collier than anything. I have issues with the way Cal treats Lilli; even if Cal was a bad guy, that and Francey's characterization suggest that acquiescence and subservience are values for women to aspire to.

Lupino is great, the main detective guy too. Can't say I'm a big fan of how the story unfolds, both in terms of uneven pacing and the actual content, but it's good enough.

Ano de Centenário de Ida Lupino #3. Aqui Don Siegel ainda estava ensaiando para fazer suas primeiras obras primas nos anos 50, é um exemplar mediano do pulp cinema, mas não sem suas qualidades, das quais a que mais ressalta é o bom elenco. A curiosidade vem de um certo "diretor de diálogo" chamado David Peckinpah, o qual nós conhecemos mais intimamente como Bloody Sam, numa função que desempenharia em vários outros filmes do Siegel daquela década. BlurayRip no MakingOff.

Lupino co-wrote this cop thriller, but turned the directing reigns over to Don Siegal. Siegal does a lot with limited resources, using the race track location well and shooting a pretty good car chase. Dean Jagger is great as Duff and Cochran's boss and Dorothy Malone is Duff's wife. This is a modest gem.