hyped garbage

An Exercise In Nonsense

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the most irritating things that I've heard is the occasional claim that the '50s were an innocent, wholesome era. Leaving aside the fact that drooling nostalgia ignores the bad things that happened (and there were lots of those in the '50s), it's mainly a bland characterization of the past. It pushes the idea that there was little to no crime back then. Well, if film noirs are any indication, there was not only crime, but corruption and all manner of sleaze. Movies like "Kiss of Death", "In a Lonely Place" and "The Killing" show some of humanity's basest tendencies. A lesser known one is Roy Rowland's Academy Award-nominated "Rogue Cop". Like many entries in the genre, this depicts gangsters, corrupt cops, and blonde women. While it lacks the sheer grittiness of "Kiss of Death" or "In a Lonely Place" - probably because MGM was the studio that turned out the likes of "The Wizard of Oz", so a crime picture was a bit of a challenge for them - it still packs a punch. I found the most effective scene to be where Janet Leigh's character takes Robert Taylor's character to task for using the case to advance his career. You don't usually expect the elegant Leigh to be that forceful, but it shows her versatility as an actress.It's not a masterpiece but worth seeing. Aside from Taylor and Leigh, the cast includes George Raft, Anne Francis and Alan Hale Jr. In other words, it stars Marion Crane, Spats, Altaira Morpheus and the Skipper.

While this film does not have every one of the usual trademarks of Film Noir, it is very much a Noir-style film. Like true Noir, Robert Taylor is not a typical cop but one on the take from the mob. The problem is that these thugs are now pressuring him to make his brother, another cop, refuse to identify a petty thug who murdered someone. The problem is that while Taylor isn't above lying or cheating, his brother (Steve Forrest) is a decent guy and won't play along with the crooks. So Taylor is stuck--should he obey his masters who have bought and paid for him or should he remain loyal to his brother? This makes for a great dilemma and also allows Taylor to play one of his grittier and more rugged roles (something I really appreciated after all the "pretty boy" roles of the 1930s and early 40s). I particularly liked watching Taylor in an all-out brawl with Alan Hale, Jr., as Taylor ending up beating him with a brutal punch to the throat! Now THAT'S what you expect in Noir! Overall, this film is well made and interesting. About the only negative is one brief scene with Janet Leigh when Taylor kisses her--it just doesn't ring true. Still, this one's a keeper and well worth your time.

I caught this on TCM Middle East the other night. First thought was in regard to the opening, my the titles are very sparse and with no soundtrack music it really added to a gritty feel. Then we get to see one hell of a gritty city with a women who looked 50 but was probably in her 30's buying a narcotic from a dealer in the penny arcade (boy I'm lucky enough to have seen one of must be the arcades with penny films in it at Grand Central Station NYC in the 1970's, pretty cool gone by times). So I'm wondering what this womens role is in the film when she slips away after getting her fix, than the dealer gets knifed by a rival dealer. WOW! This is one seedy town! Then the killer drives away but not before the good cop brother stops him because he's overparked by 15 minutes (oh brother!). Cut to the next scene and a detective is walking into the police station and I could have sworn he was the same guy as the killer (of course I'm watching this on a 20" TV so it's probably an easy mistake). Well I wont go on anymore about personal observations other than to say this is a great 1/2 of a movie and Taylor is looking really rogueish and bad, even saying if you cross me again "I'll break both your legs", thats pretty tough talk! But in the second half we get the polished MGM treatment and there is some pretty lame action and a lot of dialog, and Taylor turning a new leaf to be a good cop after all. Two things I noticed that had to be spoofed in the TV show "Police Squad" with Leslie Neilson, the stooly at the newspaper store and the final gunfight where they are shooting in between trash cans and no one is getting hit! Remember "Police Squad"? I was kinda grinning watch this movie thinking about it. Two TV personalities I noticed The Skipper Alan Hale Jr, as a heavy and The guy who was the Sheriff in Bonanza (musta chose him based on his flatfoot character here). Anyway 6/10 because its a crime thriller (which are my favorites next to good war flicks) and Taylor talks the good talk, he just doesn't walk the walk. Damn you'se lousy rogue cop you'se!

Robert Taylor plays Chris Kelvaney, a dirty cop on the take with the mob in this exciting police drama. Taylor goes on a campaign of revenge against those very mobsters, who decide to kill Kelvaney's brother, also a cop, for witnessing something that could incriminate the mob leaders.The biggest surprise here is Robert Taylor's performance as the dirty cop. We have seen him play many rather stiff heroic types such as in "Ivanhoe", but here, he is tough and gritty as the dirty cop, and very believable. The dialogue in this movie is sharp and well written and similar to a Raymond Chandler detective novel. There is also a good fist-fight between Alan Hale, Jr. ( yes! the skipper on Gilligans Island) and Robert Taylor. A top notch supporting cast rounds out what is an overall good movie , especially for those who like the old hard-boiled detective stories.