Chicago Confidential (1957)

Waste of Money.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film shows the evils of unions, but it's no "On the Waterfront". It's more like a TV movie, probably because the film's director, Sydney Salkow, was busy making TV crime and western films at the time.Dick Foran (the singing cowboy from the 30s) plays an honest Union President, and sexy Beverly Garland plays his girlfriend. Brian Keith gets top billing as an ambitious DA (this is his first starring role in a film) and there are plenty of competent character actors including Elisha Cook Jr. (the "gunsill" from Maltese Falcon), John Hamilton (Perry White from TV's Superman) and big Douglas Kennedy ("Steve Donovan, Western Marshall").This isn't a terrible film, but when you think about what else came out in 1957 - "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Sayonara", "Three Faces of Eve", "Pal Joey", "Funny Face", "Witness for the Prosecution" - it's clearly weak.

This United Artists release in 1957 was certainly a timely one for the headlines. I well remember back in the day the Labor Racketeering hearings in the US Senate headed by John McClellan with Robert F. Kennedy as the counsel and his brother and next president also sitting on the committee. Organized crime's involvement with labor unions was a big news at the time.In the fictional union talked about in this film which we never learn what it is or what industry it is for, honest president Dick Foran is framed for the murder of his friend whom he was sending to the state's attorney with information. The mobbed up vice president Douglas Kennedy then takes over and the strong arm tactics against the membership and the businesses begin.Fortunately for Foran the state's attorney is Brian Keith who is a man of conscience who actually wants to see justice as opposed to rolling up convictions. Even though he's being mentioned for governor Keith starts questioning his own conviction first with a voice identification of Foran.Said identification was bogus the product of comedian Buddy Lewis who works in mob clubs. Also derelict Elisha Cook, Jr. after giving perjured testimony is killed. It's a race against time as the mob starts plugging up potential leaks in their usual fashion.Besides those mentioned three women have prominent roles. Phyllis Coates as Keith's wife and Beverly Garland and Beverly Tyler as a pair of B girls who are witnesses against Foran.Chicago Confidential is a well paced B picture with an impressive cast giving a good ensemble effort. A historical curiosity as well given the time the film was made.

The "Confidential" part was meant to piggy-back on the popular appeal of the lurid magazine of the same name, while the labor racketeering theme tied in with headline Congressional investigations of the day. However, despite the A-grade B-movie cast and some good script ideas, the movie plods along for some 73 minutes. It's a cheap-jack production all the way. What's needed to off-set the poor production values is some imagination, especially from uninspired director Sidney Salkow. A few daylight location shots, for example, would have helped relieve the succession of dreary studio sets. A stylish helmsman like Anthony Mann might have done something with the thick-ear material, but Salkow treats it as just another pay-day exercise. Too bad that Brian Keith's typical low-key style doesn't work here, coming across as merely wooden and lethargic. At the same time, cult figure Elisha Cook Jr. goes over the top as a wild-eyed drunk. Clearly, Salkow is no actor's director. But, you've got to hand it to that saucy little number Beverly Garland who treats her role with characteristic verve and dedication. Too bad, she wasn't in charge. My advice-- skip it, unless you're into ridiculous bar-girls who do nothing else but knock back whiskeys in typical strait-jacketed 50's fashion.

The mob has infiltrated a union and are about to be ratted out to the state's attorney. They rub out the songbird and make a patsy out of the union's leader. Things look bad for the condemned man, but his girlfriend never gives up trying to exonerate him. Good film with lots of old familiar faces.