The Lineup (1958)

Fresh and Exciting

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

With its emphasis on realism, action that takes place in the daylight and location work, this crime thriller bears all the hallmarks of a docu-noir and the "police procedural" style of its opening scenes reinforces this impression. The movie begins with some fast action and a couple of fatalities which are soon found to be linked to the activities of an international drug-smuggling operation.At San Francisco's Pier 41, a ship's porter suddenly snatches a passenger's bag and throws it into the back of a waiting taxicab which drives off at great speed and runs down a police officer. The cab driver, who is shot by the dying cop, then dies at the wheel and his vehicle comes to a sudden halt when it collides with a steel-fence barrier. Detective Lieutenant Ben Guthrie (Warren Anderson) and his partner, Inspector Al Quine (Emile Meyer), discover that heroin had been concealed in a statuette that was being carried in the stolen bag and so question its owner. From their investigations, it soon becomes clear that unsuspecting tourists are being used to smuggle heroin into the United States from the Far East and that later, members of the criminal organisation are being used to recover the drugs from the innocent mules.After the financial loss incurred by the fiasco at Pier 41, the smugglers bring in a couple of hit-men from Miami to ensure that the next three consignments are collected promptly and efficiently. Dancer (Eli Wallach) a volatile psychopath who travels to San Francisco with his mentor, Julian (Robert Keith), makes his first two collections without too much trouble (despite having to kill two people in the process). The third collection involves a woman called Dorothy Bradshaw (Mary LaRoche) who had just arrived back in the U.S. with her daughter Cindy (Cheryl Callaway). The heroin in this case had been hidden in the little girl's Japanese doll, but when the inside of the doll is checked, it's found to be empty. It subsequently comes to light that Cindy had found the packet inside the doll and assuming that it was make-up, had powdered the doll's face with it. Julian persuades Dancer not to kill Dorothy and Cindy because they can be used to convince their employer that they weren't responsible for the loss of the valuable consignment.Having kidnapped Dorothy and Cindy, the two hit-men make their way to Sutro's museum where they're due to drop off the drugs at a pre-arranged location for subsequent collection by their crime boss who's known simply as "The Man" (Vaughn Taylor). Dancer, in a departure from the instructions he was given, waits to meet "The Man" who is completely uninterested in listening to any explanations for the non-delivery of part of the heroin consignment and this leads to a shocking incident before Dancer leaves the building and then immediately finds himself in a frantic car chase as he, Julian, Dorothy, Cindy and their wheel-man Sandy McLain (Richard Jaeckel) are all pursued at high speed by the cops who have finally tracked them down."The Lineup" contains a surprising number of memorable scenes. Examples of this are the ways in which three of the killings are staged as two involve victims who fall spectacularly to their deaths and another involves a servant who tries to escape a hit-man by running up a flight of stairs. When the shooting takes place, the hit-man is seen at ground-level and simultaneously, the reflection of his victim is seen one floor higher. Impressively and despite the distance between them, both men are captured in the same shot by courtesy of a strategically-placed wall mirror.The meeting involving Dancer and "The Man" provides another standout sequence which gets incredibly tense when the violent thug (Dancer) starts to feel tremendously threatened by the wheelchair-bound crime boss and of course, the car chase that brings the movie to its climax is exciting, well-choreographed and illuminated by some special moments (e.g. when the criminals narrowly avoid a fall of about 50 feet when their car unexpectedly reaches the end of an unfinished, elevated highway).There's a sharp distinction between the cops and the criminals in this movie because the detectives are rather grim-looking and world-weary whereas the criminals (especially Dancer and Julian) are full of eccentricities that make them far more interesting to watch. Predictably therefore, it's the performances of Robert Keith and especially Eli Wallach that make the greatest impact and in so doing, add tremendous colour to this fine, fast-moving and violent thriller which must've been pretty edgy for the period in which it was made.

** This review may contain spoilers *** Awesome old film noir that boasts an impressive collection of bad guys (Richard Jaeckel as a dipsomaniacal wheelman, Eli Wallach as a psychopathic bagman enforcer). A mysterious heroin kingpin called "the man", Robert Keith as a vicious but intelligent mentor to Eli Wallach (Robert Keith, you'll know as Richard Kimble's father in "The Fugitive" and episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents") he likes to write "last, or end quotes" from the people Eli Wallach murders in a little black book.), a suave trench coat wearing fingerman, and a couple of really dry and boring, but procedural, head cops.This is a "daytime" film noir. Eli Wallach is superb as a bad guy.Good locations as well in the San Francisco area, a city where I lived. The Veterans Building (opened in 1932) in the Civic Center Historic District, the Mark Hopkins Hotel (1926) on Nob Hill, Cliff House and Sutro Baths (swimming pool complex but ice skating rink in film, torn down), The Legion of Honor museum, the elevated double-decker Embarcadero Freeway (demolished after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake), the Seaman's Club (YMCA of San Francisco Building), Steinhart Aquarium (California Academy of Sciences - damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, torn down), De Young Museum (damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, torn down), United States Customhouse, the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge Highway and plenty of old docks and piers.Has some silly stuff like a cop in the Golden Gate Park picking out the car of bad guys based on the driver having a "tan", and a cop on the north end of Ocean Beach (Cliff House and Sutro Baths area) picking out the car of bad guys again, but still a wonderful film.

Far too often, car chase films made in San Francisco are laughable because the locations don't match up with reality--the magic of this film is its logic and locale accuracy; not only is this a stunning film noir that often takes place in broad daylight (without the usual attendant shadows and smoke), it is also a tour of so many legendary places that no longer exist, most notably a lengthy sequence shot at Sutro Baths, the magical Victorian amusement center that had a last gasp during the period this film was made--you can also see the dank interior of the pre-remodeled Steinhart Aquarium (also featured in Welles' Lady From Shanghai), and experience a steep drive up California Street, spotting an actual theatre marquee at the Fairmont Hotel--the Nob Hill cinema was still there instead of on Bush Street--and it's featuring An Affair To Remember! OK--Im a sucker for specific detailed shots of The City by The Bay--but when mixed with this strange tale of a jumpy psychopath, perfectly tuned by cold-blooded Eli Wallach in conjunction with his teacher, twitchy Robert Keith, as the frightening pair track down some smuggled heroin, the story tossing in in a vivid police procedural cogently assembled by Don Siegel, and ending on one of San Francisco's legendary freeways to nowhere--well, its a total winner! The downside, strictly optional, is the disc commentary--not because of affable, informative Eddie Muller, but because the jokey, better-than-thou author Elroy poses as Bad Boy Commentator rather than contribute meaningful dialogue; some may find him amusing, and like a kid who says nasty words to shock the girls, he might be; I just found him snarky and uninformative. I say watch the film, skip the commentary--The Lineup is an underrated classic noir of quality.

The Lineup is directed by Don Siegel and written by Stirling Silliphant. It stars Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Warner Anderson and Richard Jaeckel. Music is by Mischa Bakaleinkoff and cinematography by Hal Mohr.A drug smuggling gang are planting heroin on returning American tourists so as to get the merchandise through customs. Two hired hands, Dancer & Julian (Wallach & Keith respectively) then locate the unsuspecting tourists and reclaim the hidden drugs. But in this moment, with new driver Sandy McLain (Jaeckel) behind the wheel, things are not going to go to plan.It came at a time when the classic noir cycle was drawing to a close, when the dark alleyways had been replaced by sun brightened streets, but The Lineup is still clinical film noir. Originally a police procedural series that was poplar both on radio and TV, the film version keeps the police on the edges of the frame whilst studying the psychological make-ups of the criminal players. Expertly using real San Francisco locations as the backdrop, Siegel takes Silliphant's spicy script and unfurls a plot of bizarre like twists that are in turn cloaked with devilish noir substance.The four crims that form the core of the story are most intriguing players. Mclain the hapless getaway driver is in over his head, Dancer is always one push away from being a psychotic basket case and Julian is aged, wise and playing cards close to his chest. It's with the relationship between Dancer & Julian where things are shaded most darkly. Dancer announces to a secondary character (and us of course) that an absent father torments his inner being, armed with this knowledge it's then easy to view the Dancer/Julian relationship as father and son like, this even if Dancer is almost impossible to love. Julian constantly tries to keep Dancer correct and in line, even attempting to make him socially acceptable. Is it a lost cause? Well all these things come to an attention grabbing head in the excellent last quarter.MTH889Then there is The Man (Vaughn Taylor), a person we only hear about for the most part for he's not introduced until late in the day. He is the guy that Julian & Dancer work for, a shifty Godfather type we believe, as do the hired hands, but Dancer's curiosity gnaws away at him, as it does us the viewers. But when the inevitable happens, Siegel and Sillipant produce another strong film noir character, a pitiless soul who is the catalyst for our trip down bleakville highway, where the cityscape backdrop proves expansive to us, but for Dancer, Julian & Sandy it's an enclosed tomb. 8/10