This classically noirish premise is undermined at every turn, as director joseph lewis gun crazy sets his film in a world where crime, romance and even mystery have become thoroughly corporatized. Film noir about a police lieutenant who comes under pressure from a gang headed by a vicious. Read the full synopsis of the big combo, 1955, directed by joseph lewis, with cornel wilde, richard conte, brian donlevy, at turner classic movies. Of all my favorites, it has more fascinating and memorable characters than almost any other. All helped out by a solid script and a superb performance by richard conte as the crime boss. The cops have made the prescient discovery that the best way to tackle organized crime is through their taxman. I never thought i would buy the same film twice but i just did well, in january.
Quite a few white speckles crop up near reel changes, along with more bits of dirt than we expect, but the transfer reflects the fine qualities of john altons cinematography. Brown, because he hasnt been able to get any hard evidence against him. Cornel wilde is an honest 90buckperweek cop who runs afoul of mob boss richard conte. The big combo is a 1955 american film noir directed by joseph h. The best scene in the film indeed, one of the best sequences in all of film noir is the murder of.
Therefore, he decided to approach him through his girlfriend at his side held against their will, and it will try to. A vehicle for the husbandandwife team of cornel wilde and jean wallace, its about a dogged plainclothesman, leonard diamond, who has spent three years following susan lowell, a masochistic socialite enmeshed with. It also included the final screen appearance of actress helen walker. The big combo 1955 film noir with richard conte part 12.
This film is now in the top 10, make that top 5 noir films i have ever seen. They savagely pummel diamond and conduct gutwrenchingly brutal acts of torture that were unusual on screen at the time of the films release 1955. The big combo 1955 not rated 1h 27min crime, drama, filmnoir february 1955 usa a police lt. For a 1955 movie to show mingo and fante as gay hitmen is very surprising. The big combo 1955 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The big combo is a nervous, claustrophobic gangster picture directed by. Lewis the big combo is an exciting, hardboiled urban noir that loves lurking in the shadows. Like gun crazy, released by the same director five years earlier, the big combo offers a nonstop explosion of violence and corruption, leaving the viewer feeling more than a little soiled by exposure. Police captain peterson robert middleton storms into the office of police lt. The big bluff part 12 crime stories, film noir full movie 1955. From its look, to its dialog to some incredible performances this is one outstanding movie. It makes a lot of sense that this movie would make it into that documentary its full of nearly every film noir element weve discussed, complete with crime, darkness, and smoke, but the big combo reveals that film noir is a dangerous genre.
The result is many images that are soft and ill defined. The big combo, shot by alton, is a minor noir effort that could have looked great on dvd. Lewis and photographed by cinematographer john alton, with music by david. Thats like saying muddy waters does not play the blues. The big combo is a 1955 american film noir crime film directed by joseph h. Buy big combo movie posters from movie poster shop. The big combo 1955 film noir with richard conte part 1. Lewiss the big combo 1955 isnt as celebrated as gun crazy 1950, his other great film noir, but its as perverse and violent as anything in the canon.
The films characters are largerthanlife exaggerations of noir types, from sadistic mob boss mr. But take those atoms and assemble them into a woman, and their comprehension comes to a grinding halt. He then goes after browns girlfriend who despises him, for information instead. From the very first scene when we see the lovely blonde, susan lowell played by jean wallace running through a. Lewis, best known for his gangster flicks and westerns, including all 51 episodes of. Shadows and lies are the stars of the big combo, a spellbinding blackandwhite chiaroscuro with the segmented texture of a spiders web. One of my favorite b noir films is the big combo 1955. The big combo is a nervous, claustrophobic gangster picture directed by the always fascinating joseph h. Lewis and photographed exquisitely by john alton, opens with susan lowell jean wallace splashed in slanting shadows as she runs through tunnels along a boxing ring. Diamond is obsessed with catching the boss of organized crime in the city.
Its a fantastic combination of all the central elements of the noir gangster film writ extra large. Cornel wilde is police lieutenant leonard diamond who is stuck between them. Lewis and photographed by cinematographer john alton, with music by. The words used most often to describe the big combo when it was first released were ugly, raw, and vicious, and even today, the film remains quite potent, although mostly because one doesnt. The big combo manufactured on demand, widescreen on movies. The heart of the film centers on a triangle between mr. More than anything, the genre relies on the performances of actors, so much so that with weaker. My pick for this weeks notw is the big combo, one of my favorite and most watched noirs. Throw in a scene with richard conte and jean wallace that, somewhat surprisingly, got passed the 1955 censors, and there is plenty of reason to understand how the combo has developed its cult following and classic film noir status. Its rather telling that it begins and ends with silhouettes, figures basking in the dark which underlies a perpetual state of bleakness. Brown, a hood played with venomous glee by richard conte, his weakwilled society girlfriend, susan lowell jean wallace, and leonard diamond.
With cornel wilde, richard conte, jean wallace, brian donlevy. The big combo 1955 cornel wilde, richard conte, brian. Lewis was nearing the end of his career in features and was a master of his craft. Lewis director and photographed by cinematographer john alton, with music by david. It appears that lots of digital paintbox cleaning techniques have been utilized on the big combo. He says that hate is what runs the world and hes got plenty of it. Far better was the big combo 1955, starring cornel wilde as a police detective who is obsessed with the girlfriend jean wallace of a mobster richard conte. See the full list of the big combo cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. Olive films bluray of the big combo is a stunning hd transfer at a proper widescreen aspect ratio, and looks far better than the weak videos and flat 16mm prints that once circulated. The big combo is a 1955 film noir crime film directed by joseph h.
The big combo isnt as wild or daring as either filmthough lee van cleef and earl holliman do play toughs in a thinly coded gay relationshipbut its an unrelentingly tough film, and toughly played by all involved. Unfortunately, the film elements for this dvd are not in good shape. The big combo 1992 film noir about a police lieutenant who comes under pressure from a gang headed by a vicious thug. The lowestpriced brandnew, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Film noir about a police lieutenant who comes under pressure from a gang headed by a vicious thug.
With its unflinching direction by lewis, the big combo was a worthy predecessor of later explicitly violent films that honestly explored unsavory worlds. Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in. The film stars cornel wilde, richard conte and brian donlevy, as well as jean wallace, who was wildes wife at the time. Shes chased by two hitmen, fanty and mingo, who are hired by her napoleonic lover, mr. Watch this one, and i bet you end up sending the link to pals so they can watch it, too. The big combo, dvd, manufactured on demand, widescreen, suspensefilm noir, 644827540624. At one point, brown advises one of his heavies to shoot himself in the head if. Also unusual for a 1955 film is when conte starts kissing jean wallace and slowly moves down her body until he obviously is. What mostly keeps it from being great is egomaniacal phiipl yordans screenplay. The big combo plays out all the hard noir conventions youd expect but still has plenty of its own tricks.
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