Nov 12, 2023
Abandoned (1949)
"Now, look, pal. If it were me, I'd tell you I couldn't fix it, not for love nor money."
"Who said anything about love?"
"Like all the rest. You think you can buy me for money."
"Here, Delaney."
"Well, you're right. But it takes more."
"Who said anything about no more?"
#abandoned#1949#film noir#american cinema#joseph m. newman#irwin gielgud#william bowers#dennis o'keefe#gale storm#jeff chandler#meg randall#raymond burr#marjorie rambeau#jeanette nolan#will kuluva#mike mazurki#david clarke#sid tomack#perc launders#william frambes#punchy lesser known noir gem‚ lacking any really big names either behind or in front of the camera‚ but benefiting from#a sharp script and some sparkling dialogue. i didn't exactly have high hopes for this but it ended up being a lot better than I'd#anticipated. surprising moments of brutality mix with quickfire deadpan bantering and moral ambiguities‚ with a meetcute outside a morgue#and a diamond gallery of wicked villains. Gale Storm (still one of my favourite stage names) and O'Keefe are a very likeable and compelling#pair of leads‚ but the baddies are in another league; Raymond Burr superbly seedy as an uneasy goon out for himself‚ Will Kuluva a#brilliantly used racketeer whose underplayed menace lends the film a real chill‚ and Rambeau a despicable baby broker who's perhaps the#coldest and most ruthless of all. it all ends in spectacular violence and violent spectacle‚ but it's the attention to detail in the#character building and the skillfully written dialogue that really hits home for this one. a very pleasant surprise!
