We all have movies that we could watch and re-watch over and over again without getting bored. When it comes to me, The Crooked Way (1949) is definitely one of these, maybe because it was one of the first film noirs I ever watched (the very first one being D.O.A. (1950), which I will review very soon).
Most of film noirs have a plot involving a femme fatale (Double Indemnity (1944), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), amnesia (Somewhere in the Night (1946), The October Man (1947)), betrayal (Criss Cross (1949), forensic investigations (Mystery Street (1950), war trauma (Crossfire (1947), Act of Violence (1949)), gangsters and criminal organizations (Key Largo (1948), The Big Combo (1955)). Well, all these elements have been in some way blended into a single film noir and it’s called The Crooked Way.
From French-American director Robert Florey (The Face Behind the Mask (1941), Danger Signal (1945)), The Crooked Way is one of those iconic lesser-known film noirs that I cherish. Actually, this one is according to me the ultimate film noir. Let me explain myself.
First, let’s talk about film aesthetics. In The Crooked Way, almost each and every scene is filmed with surgical precision, making them look like genuine paintings and visual arts more than in every other film noir. This might be explained by the great work of John Alton as director of cinematography. Low angles shots, silhouetting, mirror reflections, Dutch angles, you name it, are excessively used in this noir gem. And the result is outstanding.
Secondly: let’s focus on the plot. Decorated WW2 veteran Eddie Rice (John Payne) is treated for a permanent form of amnesia at San Francisco military hospital. In order to learn more about his past, he returns to Los Angeles, where he is enlisted in.
Soon after his arrival in the City of Angels, he is surprisingly recognized as a certain Eddie Riccardi, whose past behavior generates mistrust among the police and all those who knew him in the past. Moreover, a ruthless crime boss named Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts), who was betrayed by Eddie before he left the town, is now out for a cold revenge.
All in all, The Crooked Way remains to me a top-notch film noir gem. This stylish film noir manages to blend most of the ingredients of a classic film noir without making it lose its core substance. Finally, the film also includes interesting procedural and forensic elements characteristic of these late 1940s film noirs (T-Men (1947), He Walked by Night (1948)).
E.K.
FILM NOIR: Lost in the dark 