Private Hell 36 (1954)
In New York, a bank robbery of $300,000 goes unsolved for a year, until some of the marked bills are found in a Los Angeles drugstore theft. Police detectives Cal Bruner and Jack Farnham investigate and are led from the drugstore to a nightclub, where singer Lili is another recipient of a stolen bill. With Lili's help, the partners track down the remaining money, but both Lili and Frank are dismayed when Cal decides he wants to keep part of it.
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The Worst Film Ever
Redundant and unnecessary.
Powerful
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Cop partners are tempted into stealing robbery loot, causing tension between them and troubles for their women.The crime drama may be a potboiler, but it's also redeemed by an effective cast. And that's despite one of the most obtuse film titles in Hollywood annals. Actually, the movie amounts to a Steve Cochran showcase, showing what that swarthy actor could do given the chance. Nonetheless, the competition's pretty stiff from Duff and Lupino, while Malone would have to wait a year for her break-through role in Battle Cry (1955). Cochran and Lupino do make a convincing tarnished couple, as another reviewer points out. At the same time, Cochran's devious cop amounts to one of the most unself-conscious performances I've seen from an actor. Note how at ease he is in the role, as if he really is cop Bruner.It's also director Don Siegel, a year away from his classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). His skills are especially apparent in that opening action sequence that hooks the audience right away. Also, the car-wreck scene is really well done—no stock footage there— including the smoothly executed thievery scene. However, the last sequence, in the trailer park, appears too abrupt and poorly staged, as though the production had run out of film or money or both.Kudos to co-producer Lupino who continued to be instrumental in turning out quality B- movies at a time when TV was slowing demand. Nothing memorable here, just a solid little crime drama with an expert cast.
Private Hell 36 refers to what Ida Lupino at age 36 was going thru because she looked like she was 46. Here she plays hotsy-totsy vaa-vaa-voom chanteuse opposite gum chewing police detective Steve Cochran, who was 37 at the time. Cochran's police partner is Howard Duff (Ida's real life hubby at the time). After a lot of time wasted getting to the real plot, Duff & Cochran stumble across a strongbox of $200k in hot $$$ from a NYC robbery-murder. Cochran stuffs his pocket with $80k, Duff is dumbfounded but soon it's too late and he is absorbed by his participation, so much so that he goes thru private hell for the rest of the flick because of the $$$ which Cochran has hidden in a small trailer he has rented in a trailer park. It's trailer #36. Duff's Private Hell. Trailer #36. Ge it? Little twists happen, Duff tells Cochran they must come clean, Cochran says sure nuff, they go to the trailer, Duff gets the dough, Cochran pulls his gun to blast Duff, but a voice calls out, shots are fired, people scatter, mild mayhem. Duff is wounded, Cochran's dead and the surprise ending is surprising. It's watchable, too much time at the race track and the villain has nice old Packaard which crashes down the usual ravine. I love old movies with car crashes cause they looked real back before every crash now looks like 100 megaton, 1,000 gallons of gas explosion and fireball visible from outer space. The film "Impact" has a nice old Packard too.
No, not really.Two detectives, Jack Farnham and Cal Bruner are deeply investigating a robbery in which $300,000 was stolen. As their investigation progresses, they, by way of a sultry woman called Lilli Marlowe, manage to find the perp and recover the cash. But Bruner has fallen for Marlowe, and realising she has expensive tastes and that his police salary can not sustain the relationship, he ponders turning to the dark side, with Farnham equally at odds with himself over the pressures of raising a family.Is Private Hell 36 a Noir film? Well I'm no paid expert on the subject but it certainly has all the ingredients in place. Yet the film, in spite of some watchable attributes, is a largely character driven talky piece of fluff that isn't really raising the bar in film noir. Or, in fact, crime picture history. Certainly it's not a film that screams out that it was directed by Don Siegel. It's a solid premise to work from, and in Ida Lupino (Marlowe) and the great Steve Cochran (Bruner), the picture boasts two very fine performances, with each actor giving the film its emotional weight. A nod of approval also goes to the scoring of the piece by Leith Stevens, as jazzy blues like combos flit in and out to create an ear worthy alliance as our detectives battle with their very conscience. All things considered it's an enjoyable enough piece, but one that fades very quick from the memory. Solid if unspectacular, and reliable if lacking in any major amount of thrills and brain tickling plotting. 5/10
It's nice to see the old Republic logo at the start of this. Seeing Ida Lupino is always a delight. Steve Cochrane was a handsome, effective performer who was underutilized. And Don Siegal was a great director of gritty noirs in the 1950s.Unfortunately, these parts do not add up to much of a whole. It's a standard rogue cop story that doesn't ring true. The duologue is very arch. Are we trying for Oscar Wilde here or are we making a gritty detective movie? Dorothy Malone is beautiful in that somewhat unusual way she had and she also acts well.Lupino seems either to have been allowed, or directed, to chew up the scenery. She is playing to the balcony. And saying that about one of my all-time favorite perfumers hurts.