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Walk a Crooked Mile

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Walk a Crooked Mile
Theatrical release lobby card
Directed byGordon Douglas
Screenplay byGeorge Bruce
Story byBertram Millhauser
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byReed Hadley
Cinematography
Edited byJames E. Newcom
Music byPaul Sawtell
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Edward Small Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • September 2, 1948(1948-09-02)(United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Walk a Crooked Mileis a 1948 Americananti-communist,Cold Warcrime film,directed byGordon Douglas,starringDennis O'KeefeandLouis Hayward.

Plot

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Solid leads come to light about a Communist spy ring infiltrating the Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics, a southern California atomic research center. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Dan O'Hara teams up with Scotland Yard detective Philip Grayson to hunt down the perpetrators responsible for the leak. At least one of the scientists at the nuclear lab is suspected of being involved in the clandestine espionage operation.

Cast

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Production

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The film was one of the firstCold Warmovies, and was made specifically to exploit the new anti-communist sentiment in the country afterWorld War II.Producer Edward Smalls hoped to repeat the success he recently had with the films noirT-MenandRaw Deal.It was directorGordon Douglas'first major production; he had been makingB moviesforMGM.

The original title wasFace of Treason,which was changed toFBI vs Scotland Yard.FBIdirectorJ. Edgar Hooverrequested it be renamed again,[1]toFBI Meets Scotland Yard,but Small eschewed any collaboration with the agency, as he had discovered how controlling Hoover was when the FBI was involved in a cinematic project. Hoover was involved with a big hit, 1945'sThe House on 92nd Street,a movie about the FBI's pursuit and conquest of domesticNazisthat showcased the agency's methods and skills. By 1948, theHouse Un-American Activities Committeehearings aboutcommunistinfluence on the country were underway, and the FBI wanted a movie about this hot new topic, but Small refused to let Hoover co-produce the movie. Small also refused to grant the FBI power to approve the screenplay, so Hoover insisted all traces of the agency be removed from the film. Small refused once again; he held that fictional treatment of a public agency was legitimate. The only concession Small made was regarding the title, consequentlyThe New York Timespublished a letter from Hoover disavowing any connection to the film and stating that he had not sanctioned it.[2]

Exteriorsare mostly fromSan Franciscobut the film starts with exteriors from Brand Boulevard,Glendale, California.[3][4]

Reception

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When the film was released,The New York Timesfilm critic,Bosley Crowther,while giving the film mixed review, wrote well of the screenplay, "No use to speak of the action or the acting. It's strictly routine. But the plot is deliberately sensational."[5]

The staff atVarietygave the film a favorable review, writing, "Action swings to San Francisco and back to the southland, punching hard all the time under the knowledgeable direction of Gordon Douglas. On-the-site filming of locales adds authenticity. George Bruce has loaded his script with nifty twists that add air of reality to the meller doings in the Bertram Millhauser story. Dialog is good and situations believably developed, even the highly contrived melodramatic finale. Documentary flavor is forwarded by Reed Hadley's credible narration chore."[6]

References

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  1. ^Scheuer, Philip K. (August 23, 1948). "Dennis O'Keefe Costar of Small's 'Dark Page;' Carmen, Wally Reunited".Los Angeles Times.p. 11.
  2. ^Muller, Eddie."Noir Alley: Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) Inro".You Tube.Tuner Classic Movies.RetrievedMay 28,2022.
  3. ^CitySleuth (August 18, 2019)."Walk A Crooked Mile - 1 - Red Scare".Reel SF.RetrievedApril 11,2022.San Francisco movie locations from classic films
  4. ^CitySleuth (March 29, 2020)."Walk A Crooked Mile - 9 - Pier 36".Reel SF.RetrievedApril 11,2022.
  5. ^Crowther, Bosly.The New York Times,film review, October 13, 1948. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
  6. ^Variety,film review. September 2, 1949. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.
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