Reno, Reno, Reno, baby, Reno, Reno, Reno!
Finishing up the first volume of my Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics set, I'm licking my chops ready to start the second. I found 5 Against the House the weakest film of the whole collection. The title alone screams heist, but none of this gets going until Kim Novak and boyfriend Guy Madison have canoodled for a half-hour or MORE. Zzzzzzzzz. Actual heist concept these middle aged "college kids" (Korean war vets) dream up is totally corny and doomed to fail. You know, you just never hear about Reno anymore. Does anyone still go? The Lineup by contrast, while not a perfect film, is pretty darn slick. Based on a popular TV show, there's an obligatory but completely pointless line up scene which must have been there just to satisfy studio execs who wanted people to make the connection between the film and the show. Filled with gorgeous location views of San Francisco, the story turns on a completely hokey concept: that an Asian based heroin trade would plant teeny quantities of drugs on unsuspecting tourists and then employ psychos to retrieve it once they are back home in America! OK, but listen-- Eli Wallach as said psycho, his elderly mentor and their "wheelman" make this too thrilling! Bonus: crazed banter between noir buff Eddie Muller and author James Ellroy on the commentary track make this an incredible package. I'm your kind of people, guys!
That's some collision! From The Lineup
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