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The Crooked Way

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Eddie Rice (John Payne) is a WWII veteran that's just been released out of the hospital. Because of a combat injury, he has complete amnesia. The only thing he knows is that he came from Los Angeles, so he goes to the city looking for someone, anyone, who might recognize him and help him unravel his past. Unfortunately, the first ones to recognize him are cops, who know him by another name, Eddie Riccardi, cold-blooded gangster. But they don't know that he's totally forgotten his notorious past. After being released by the cops, Eddie runs into his ex-wife, Nina (Ellen Drew) who's not too pleased to see him. The Eddie she knew was cruel and heartless, and of course she's very reluctant to believe his amnesia story. The next one to find out that "Eddie's back in town" is Eddie's former mob boss, Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts). Vince is also upset that Eddie has returned, because Eddie had double-crossed him years ago and Vince has been waiting to get revenge ever since.

Because of the watchful eyes of the local cops and detectives, Vince sees that killing Eddie and getting away with it is impossible. So, he does the next best thing. He frames Eddie for the murder of a respected police officer, and before long Eddie (with plenty of angry cops looking for him) is wishing he'd just stayed at the hospital and left his past as a blank space. He finally convinces his ex-wife that his amnesia is genuine, and she finally decides to help him escape from the police as well as try to clear himself before his rediscovered life is brought to a tragic end. And while he's at it, Eddie sparks up a new romance with his ex-wife, who's very pleased with the "new" Eddie that`s kind and loving. With the cops closing in fast on Eddie, he bravely decides to take on Vince and his gang alone in a deserted building. Will the cops arrive in time to save Eddie, or will they find nothing but corpses filled with lead? Watch and find out!

1949's "The Crooked Way" is an obscure but highly enjoyable film noir, with some of the most stylish noir photography and lighting I've ever seen. This is because the cinematography was handled by the legendary John Alton, the most recognized and respected name in film noir cinematography. To be honest, I've never thought of John Payne as a great actor. However, with his gloomy, cynical personality and his frequent frowning, he was perfect for film noir, and appeared in several classics besides this one ("Kansas City Confidential", "Slightly Scarlet", "99 River Street", "Hell's Island"). With sharp dialogue, a well-crafted and fast-paced plot, and amazing cinematography, "The Crooked Way" is a great film noir that deserves a better reputation. Recently released on DVD by Geneon Entertainment, the picture quality is wonderful. The sound quality was only average, but considering the very low price of the DVD I have no complaints. If you enjoy classic noir films, then add this gem to your collection!

Sometimes you need more than an intriguing premise - a guy with amnesia learns he's a gangster with a lot of enemies - and excellent cinematography by John Alton (T-MEN, HE WALKED BY NIGHT) to make an entertaining movie. Based on the positive reviews I've read I had high hopes for this film, but it ended up the one middle-of-the-road review I saw (in "The Film Noir Bible") was the most accurate. This film has the makings of a minor noir classic, but it doesn't happen.

I didn't care for the main character; I felt no sympathy for him because he kept putting himself in harm's way. The female lead had no screen presence and the bad guy wasn't intimidating. I did enjoy the 40's street scenes. Any noir fan should at least watch it once, but I don't think the average film fan will care for it. Nice picture on the DVD though.

Also look for a brief appearance by the often uncredited Jack Overman (T-MEN, BRUTE FORCE, THE LONG NIGHT) as a hood in the scene where Eddie goes to the Golden Horn club.

In movie story parlance a character arc is a significant development that dramatically changes the life pattern that individual is pursuing.

In the case of the 1949 film noir vehicle "The Crooked Way" John Payne, a former musical star at Twentieth-Century Fox opposite their popular blondes Alice Faye and Betty Grable, plays a returning veteran from World War Two. This was a familiar story element used in many late forties films, but this film involves a unique twist.

In Payne's case he suffers from amnesia and returns to Los Angeles to find out who he really is. The character arc involves the fact that, the more the viewer learns, the easier it becomes to realize that Payne was not one of the community's solid citizens. He was, in fact, one of the city's most prominent hoodlums.

The character arc involves the fact that the post-traumatic shock Payne is a thoroughly different man. His efforts are accordingly twofold, 1) to establish that he is now a decent man, and 2) to learn about those dark secrets of his past life and seek to rectify them while building on his new post-war existence.

Ellen Drew sustains a profound shock when she learns that Payne is truly a changed man. She was his former wife who soured on him and became involved with his rival a take-no-prisoners mobster played by Sonny Tufts. Tufts bears a physical resemblance to David Brian, who played gangland bosses in many films of the forties and fifties.

Whereas Drew changes her opinion of Payne when she sees that he is a different person than the selfish, plotting mobster she earlier knew, Tufts has a one-track mind throughout. A ruthless sociopath, for Tufts all roads lead to one objective - the elimination of Payne.

While this is not one of the more imaginative film noir efforts of the period from the standpoint of story, there are some pluses in this film. The three leads of Payne, Drew and Tufts dominate and interact superbly, generating dramatic sparks. Another plus is the excellent, brooding black and white photography of John Alton, one of the leading cinematographers of the post-war noir period, who weaves a fascinating tapestry of the Los Angeles of that period.

finally available. The transfer is excellent (there are some cropping issues and it appears to be converted from PAL) especially for under 10 bucks! Every noir fan will love this one...

Amnesia is one of the staples - even cliches - of film noir, and it is often used brilliantly, especially in the short-term variety brought on by alcohol or knocks on the head (Black Angel is a fine example that comes to mind). There are a number of reasons for this usage - the war and it's psychological effect on the returning soldiers is certainly the most obvious external one, but in the labyrinthine, shadowy world of noir a search for a missing identity, a missing past can often add layers to an already complex story or set of characters.

THE CROOKED WAY shows us a less-common variant - total amnesia afflicting the protaganist, Eddie Rice (John Payne). Rice only knows from the Army doctors that he enlisted in Los Angeles, so he gets off the bus there to try to find clues as to his old life - and is quickly accosted by a pair of cops who know him as Eddie Riccardi, a small-time criminal in the employ of much bigger name Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts) that they're still trying to put away for good, though Eddie's testimony against him had put him in the slammer for a while. And Eddie was apparently married, to Nina Martin (Ellen Drew) - who blames her for walking out on him. So he's got some problems - an angry wife prepared to turn him over to the mob, and a mob boss who wants him dead or at least hurt for what he did in the past. And Eddie can't remember any of it.

THE CROOKED WAY suffers a bit from not doing enough with the whole memory-loss angle. Eddie never seems even on the verge of really recovering his memories, but he manages to put together a past record pretty easily - and there's never any real doubt that it's the real past either. A masterpiece like THE BIG SLEEP keeps you guessing as to the motives and actions of nearly everybody throughout; here there's no question that Eddie is more or less the "hero" and that he's on the road to moral recovery ever if he can't get his old memories back. Though apparently a pretty nasty piece of work in his former life, now he's a typical example of the positive noir protaganist, someone trying to do right and atone, rarely if ever tempted into his old ways. And the cops badger him and go after him mercilessly - until they all of a sudden get the word from the Army that in fact his amnesia story is true, at which point they're more or less on his side. It's all a little too easily put together, and wrapped up.

But if the plotting and screenplay (by Robert H. Landau, based on a radio play) are obvious and sometimes even perfunctory, nothing else in this excellent production is particularly problematic. The cast is fine - why Payne, a better looking Fred MacMurray or a tougher Dana Andrews - never developed a better career is beyond me, he's been excellent in the half-dozen films (noir and westerns) that I've seen him in; and Tufts certainly gives a performance good enough to make me wonder why he was long considered a joke. Ellen Drew is tough and just attractive enough - little attempt is made to make her a glamor-girl type; Rhys Williams as Lt. Joe Williams does one of the better cynical cops I've seen in these films. And director Robert Florey's camerawork is fluid and his attention to the L.A. locations is as good as anything from the 40s I think - this really gives a feel for the place that set-bound work can never quite capture. But the biggest star is probably the photography of John Alton, the great master of the noir lighting style, who here shows that he's just as good at capturing the blinding L.A. sun as he is at depicting dimly lit nightclubs, police stations and alleys.

Note on the DVD: I wouldn't normally expect much from a company like Geneon, but this is a decent release with good contrast and fair sharpness; don't think it's a crappy public domain copy, it's quite decent. No extras at all though, not even a menu - the disc starts up as soon as you pop it in. Worth it I'd say for the noirophile at a budget price.

"The Crooked Way" is a minor film noir from 1949 with a familiar premise. Eddie Rice (John Payne) is a World War II veteran who has been in a rehabilitation hospital in San Francisco due to amnesia. A piece of shrapnel imbedded in his brain has caused him to loose all memory of his life and identity. Army records say only that he is Eddie Rice from Los Angeles. So he goes to Los Angeles in hopes that someone will recognize him, and someone does. Two police officers stop him at the train station and take him in for questioning. They say he is Eddie Ricardi, a gangster who ratted out his colleague Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts) to save himself before skipping town 5 years ago. His ex-wife Nina Martin (Ellen Drew) also recognizes Eddie and rings Vince to say he's back in town.

"The Crooked Way" was based on a radio play called "No Blade Too Sharp" and directed by Robert Florey. The cinematographer is John Alton. The print I watched is very high contrast, to the point that shadows are often completely black. I don't know if the contrast on that print or transfer might be too high, but, as Alton is famous for not caring about detail in shadows, I'm inclined to think this is just a very high contrast film, like the great T-Men. In any case, this is a classic scenario of a man with no memory trying to discover himself, only to discover that he was not a good guy. He cannot recapture his memory or escape his past. It's reminiscent of the 1946 film noir Somewhere in the Night, a more iconic film that takes itself less seriously.

John Payne is tall, handsome, and tough as Eddie Rice, but he isn't given a lot to do. Eddie is a simpler character than "Somewhere in the Night"'s George Taylor. He seems oddly unfazed to learn that he was a sadistic thug in a previous life. Police Lieutenant Williams (Rhys Williams) has a quality unlike any policeman I've seen on film: a disarming combination of affability and nerve. Nothing scares him, and he is equally at ease with cops and gangsters. His manner is non-threatening; his pursuit of justice in not. "The Crooked Way" is not complex. It's dialogue is not especially sharp. But it is an entertaining film characteristic of the noir style.

The DVD (Geneon 2005): This is a grainy print, but there are only a few scratches or visible flaws apart from the grain, so it's not bad. Sound is ok. It isn't distracting, but it's not quite clean either. As I mentioned, the film is unusually high contrast, even for 1940s crime film, but I chalk that up to Alton. There are no subtitles, bonus features, or scene menu.

If you believe that noir is a style more than a genre and that you'll recognize the style as soon as you see it, you'll have The Crooked Way pegged ten minutes in. That's when Eddie Rice (John Payne), a war vet who won the Silver Star and has a hunk of shrapnel in his brain, hits the streets of Los Angeles to find out who he is. Eddie has spent five years in an Army hospital in San Francisco while doctors worked to help him recover his memory. He has complete amnesia. But as his doctors point out, there's amnesia and there's amnesia. Eddie has the kind that's organic. His brain has been damaged and nothing will bring back his past. He can start anew. All Eddie knows is that his papers say he enlisted in Los Angeles. That's where he goes to see if he can find someone who knows who he was. And that's when John Alton's great noirsh cinematography kicks in. We know we're going to find ourselves walking right next to Eddie Rice in a grandly-lit crime caper of violence and betrayal, of wet streets and dark warehouses, of shadows cast by no sun or moon we've ever seen before, and of harsh, blinding whites and deep, deep blacks. The movie looks great. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.

As soon as Eddie walks down the steps of the L.A. train station, however, he meets police lieutenant Joe Williams, just by accident. Williams tells Eddie he'd be wise to turn around and leave L.A. for good. It turns out Eddie Rice is really Eddie Riccardi, a crook and an informer who helped put away his friend and partner, crime boss Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts). If Eddie doesn't get out of down, Williams almost chortles, just think of what Vince will do to you. Eddie, again just by accident, then happens to come across Nina Martin (Ellen Drew), who also tells him to get lost. It seems Eddie did her wrong and she now works for Vince...even though she's still Eddie Riccardi's wife. Then Vince learns Eddie's back. Vince is a tough guy who gets mad easily and believes in permanently disposing of people who cross him. He's in the rackets and runs a big gambling operation. By the time Vince and his goons get through with Eddie, Eddie looks worn around the edges. By the time Eddie gets through with Vince, Vince is air-conditioned. But Eddie stays Eddie Rice. All those memories are gone. It seems that he and Nina will, as Eddie says, have a chance at a decent life.

Coincidence plays such a big role in this movie it's apparent the writers didn't seem to have the time to do a better job. Too bad, because elements of the movie are good. The old amnesia device still works. The plot, powered by the uneasy, threatening style Alton creates, moves briskly. And for those who really enjoy the worn-down look of Los Angeles in the late Forties, the movie is a treat. Much of the movie was filmed in some grubby parts of down-town Los Angeles. When Eddie stops to get a glass of orange juice, he's at what looks like an Orange Julius stand. Later, at night, we see streets filled with open-window shops selling ten-cent red hots, tamales and "Western Farms Fresh Churned Buttermilk." A set of narrow stairs leads to a grubby hot-sheet second floor hotel next to a flashy dance hall. A worn-out movie house is showing Pitfall with Dick Powell.

As for the acting, it's a mixed bag. John Payne has always seemed to me to be stiff and empty as an actor. He has two expressions here, puzzled and sad or as if someone is stepping on his big toe. Sonny Tufts was a big, blond guy with a light voice and a meaty face. He started to hit the big time in the mid-Forties, usually as a big, lovable lug. Then booze hit him hard. It didn't help when two women filed separate charges against him for biting their thighs. Neither he not his career ever recovered. He became a punch-line for comedians. Tufts tries to make Vince menacing by often speaking in a kind of whisper. With his light voice, he sounds like a cross between Clint Eastwood and Alice Faye. But then we have Rhys Williams as Lt. Joe Williams. He does a fine job as an energetic, confident cop who likes to bait the bad guys. Most of all, we have that wonderful, odd character actor, Percy Helton. He was a small, round-headed, balding man with an unforgettable high, squeaky voice. If you've seen him, you won't forget him. He almost always played unreliable or slimy or cowardly characters. In The Crooked Way, he's a two-bit crook who cares greatly for his sick cat, Samson.

The DVD transfer is surprisingly good, in the order of a solid VHS tape. There are chapter stops but no menu; the movie just starts when you put it in the player. If the price is right and you enjoy B noirs, this might be one worth getting.

This great Film Noir movie is a hidden gem and I am glad I got it !

John Payne is the classic noir guy and wish he had made more !!

"The Crooked Way" is a 1949 film noir using the all too familiar theme of an amnesiac attempting to put the puzzling pieces of his life back together. War hero Eddie Rice has been convalescing for 5 years in a San Francisco military hospital for wounds that have left a piece of shrapnel lodged deep within his brain. Rice played by John Payne, only knows that he'd enlisted in Los Angeles. He is convinced by his doctor to return there to hopefully discover his true identity.

Upon his arrival in L.A., Payne gets a lukewarm reception from police lieutenant Joe Williams played by Rhys Williams, owing to the fact that he is actually Eddie Riccardi a known gangster. His old boss Vince Alexander played by Sonny Tufts has solidified his power base and views Payne as a threat. Payne also meets up with the attractive Nina Martin played by the attractive Ellen Drew, working as a hostess in a gambling den fronted by Tufts. Shockingly Payne learns that Drew was once his wife.

Tufts tries to frame Payne for a murder he committed of policeman Williams, who was putiing the heat on his operation. Payne aided by the now sympathetic Drew must uncover evidence to prove his innocence as L.A.P.D. is hot on his trail.

"The Crooked Way" had all the elements of the classic film noir but suffered from some very pedestrian acting performances by the cast particularly by the emotionless Payne.

John Payne was perhaps the quintessential patsy turned hero character in this era of film noir. All the other supporting actors merely play off of his character role developing from one of stupefaction to that of determined resolve. I do think that the amnesia angle was a bit overplayed in this era.