Desperate (1947)

Directed by Anthony Mann; produced by Michel Kraike

Steve Randall (Steve Brodie) has a life on the upswing: a new and pretty wife (Audrey Long), his own truck for hauling cargo and, though he doesn’t know it yet, a baby on the way. But a call from old acquaintance Walt Radak (Raymond Burr) changes that. Radak coerces Randall into moving stolen goods and though Randall manages to warn the police, a cop is killed by Radak’s brother, who soon faces the death penalty. In revenge, Radak chases Randall and his wife across the country, and their only hope is in staying one step ahead of the murderous hunter.

A neat little film noir that relies on the tension generated by the direction and acting more than anything else, Desperate benefits from the talents of director Mann early in his career. Another early Mann movie was Two O’Clock Courage, reviewed on this blog recently. As in that picture, Mann is given a script with nothing spectacular and manages to create a number of good scenes. One may notice a use of close-ups here that was not common in 1947, at least in B-movies. Light and shadow are effectively utilised, as well.

With regard to acting, leading man Brodie is capable but rather bland. That this was recognised at the time may be evinced by the fact that Desperate is his only starring role, all others relegating him to supporting parts, though substantial, in many cases.

The honours for creating an impression here go to Burr as the villain. He specialised in bad guys, probably cast so because of his deep voice, height and girth - though he convincingly played a hero in Please Murder Me (1956). In Desperate, he makes another menacing crook realistic. (Interestingly, he and Brodie re-united thrice in episodes of Burr’s tv series, Perry Mason.)

Jason Robards Sr (credited, of course, without the qualifier) has a good part as the police detective who knows Randall is innocent of deliberate involvement in crimes, but uses him, to an extent, to run down the real culprits. In a number of similar low-budget B-movies, it is the secondary characters that add interest, and keep the film going. Desperate is no exception.

The script and story are fairly ordinary, and there is no feeling of time or distance in a story that covers months and thousands of miles. This is a problem more to do with the writing than the direction, and removes a dimension to the tale.

All in all, Desperate is a good if not very good crime story, its quality improved by some good service provided by the supporting actors and the director.