Richard Conte tackles the mob in a classic film noir (1957) by Phil Karlson (
99 River Street,
Walking Tall). Karlson's style is hard, fast, and unadorned, which may explain why he's never attracted the attention lavished on Robert Siodmak and the prissier noir specialists. But the angry rhythms of Karlson's films seem just as true to the genre's fatalistic spirit as any of Siodmak's bizarre camera angles; with Dianne Foster and Kathryn Grant.
By
Dave Kehr