Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

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.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Ex-army John Garfield returns to his home town of New York to pick up with his girlfriend Faye Emerson (Toni) and the $50,000 he left with her to look after. Uh-oh, she's no longer his girlfriend and tells him that she's blown his money away in a poor nightclub business venture. She seems to be doing alright now, though, with her new partner nightclub owner Robert Shayne (Chet). Garfield wants his $50K back and negotiates this in his own way before heading to LA with buddy George Tobias (Al). It is here that he is persuaded by a gang headed by George Coulouris (Doc) to get involved in a scam to marry wealthy widower Geraldine Fitzgerald (Gladys) and fleece her of $2 million and share the spoils. He only goes and actually falls in love with her – scuppering all plans and putting himself in danger.The film starts well enough but tails off and becomes boring, especially towards the end. There is not really any suspense or anything particularly that stands out towards the end of the film and everything ends predictably. Far more should have been made of the Faye Emerson character and Garfield doesn't cut it as a tough guy. He's small in stature and would get a hammering in a fight between himself and any other cast member so it's quite an unconvincing portrayal due to a casting misfire. He is no hard man. He's more like a pipsqueak in the Elisha Cook Jr mold.The film is OK but what is of more interest is Faye Emerson's character of Toni Blackburn. Who would have thought that years later she would get a sex-change and actually change her name to Tony Blackburn and become a British DJ on Radio One.

When con-artist John Garfield is released from Army hospital, he is eager to see his old girl Faye Emerson again, as well as the $50K he left in her care. But she found a new guy, a nightclub owner she also works for as a singer, and she made some bad investments with the money. Garfield smells something fishy and beats the money out of the nightclub owner. With his pal George Tobias he heads to LA. They find Garfield's old mentor Walter Brennan there, as well as another group of con-artists led by George Coulouris. Coulouris found a new mark, rich widow Geraldine Fitzgerald, and begrudgingly needs Garfield to work on her. Garfield pretends to be a wealthy businessman and befriends Fitzgerald. Soon Fitzgerald falls for Garfield, but he falls for her as well. Garfield wants out, and tries to pay off Coulouris and his gang. But they won't let their fat fish off the hook that easily.A noir melodrama with a by-the-numbers story by W.R. Burnett ('The Asphalt Jungle'), but the excellent cast and crew elevates the movie. Garfield ('Body And Soul') is great as always and has great chemistry with Fitzgerald ('The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'), who is excellent, bringing a lot of depth to her character. But the rest of the cast is great as well, altho Emerson ('The Mask Of Dimitrios') is underused, but does give off a nice femme fatale vibe every second she's on the screen. Coulouris ('Citizen Kane') is as oily and sleazy as can be expected, and Brennan ('Bad Day At Black Rock') does well in a stereotypical 'father' role.Director Jean Negulesco ('The Mask Of Dimitrios') and DoP Arthur Edeson ('The Maltese Falcon') keep this movie interesting throughout, by offsetting the light and opulent surroundings of Fitzgerald's life with the dingy, dark and claustrophobic rooms that Coulouris and his crew live in, with top con-artist Garfield effortlessly navigating between both lifestyles. The movie ends with a fog-filled climax in a small harbor, which is beautifully shot and quite thrilling, but then ends in a bit of a redemptive whimper/cop-out. That and the story which lacks any real surprises or twists, are the only 2 flaws in an otherwise good movie. 8/10

The first half sets up a promising noir as returning vet and con-man Nick Blake (Garfield) deals with double-crossing sweetie Toni (Emerson) and a civilian life changed by the war. To get better bearings, he relocates to the coast of Southern California, whose miles of sun- drenched, sandy beaches looks like an advertisement for the big post-war migration that was to follow. There he's persuaded to take up his old ways by fleecing a trusting rich widow played by Fitzgerald, only he gets more than he bargained for.It's a well thought out screenplay (WR Burnett) that provides plausible motivation for most of the many twists and turns-- except for the sultry Toni's sudden presence in California, a padded segment that perhaps justifies the actress's featured billing. The young, ruggedly handsome Garfield is excellent, as usual, and makes a persuasive con artist. Ditto Fitzgerald, whose sweetly innocent beauty could turn any man's head, including Nick's. But especially good is George Tobias in a questionable role for noir of comic relief-- he manages to be both mildly amusing and convincingly tough as Nick's loyal henchman. And, of course, there's the great Walter Brennan as aging con-man with heart, Pop Gruber. Note also the atmospheric dive where Pop hangs out, with its clamorous clientele and a barkeep who really looks like he could handle them— director Negulesco knows how to stock an effective background.The movie contains many elements of noir, as well as the fine cast. Despite these positive elements, Negulesco's slow, deliberate pacing is more consistent with a romantic or psychological approach than with a crime drama. Consider, the final sequence on the pier and how slow and drawn-out the action is, even draining away some of the intended suspense. Ditto the agonizing wait in the coffee shop—it's colorful with the counterman, but over-done, nevertheless. I agree with reviewers who think the movie ends up straddling several movie categories, without excelling at any. In my little book, the result comes across smoothly, but doesn't combine its parts into anything more memorable than a generally entertaining studio product.

Nobody Lives Forever finds John Garfield as a former Broadway sharpie just discharged from Uncle Sam's Army and sort of at loose ends. He's not sure what he wants to do with himself. Personally I'm kind of surprised he's not taking advantage of the benefits of GI Bill if he's interested in starting over. That's one of the weaknesses of the film.In the meantime his girlfriend, nightclub singer Faye Emerson has given John the air and taken his money and invested it with her new boy friend Robert Shayne in a nightclub. Disgusted with the way she's two timed him, Garfield and pal George Tobias leave New York and head for the west coast and Los Angeles. They run into another old time con man Walter Brennan who's now barely scratching a living, but who's heard of big score in the making involving taking recent wealthy widow Geraldine Fitzgerald. The idea is that of another grifter George Coulouris who has no scruples at all about doing what has to be done, but he hasn't got the technique to romance Fitzgerald. That's where Garfield comes in.Of course he falls for the mark and I think you can see where the rest of this is going. It's not a bad story, but has a few glitches in the script. For one thing when Emerson is reintroduced coming west herself later and setting her to be the one to rat out Garfield's change of heart to the rest, it's clumsily done. Secondly again, not a mention of the GI bill for a returning veteran looking to reinvent himself.Garfield does make an appealing con man with a conscience and between Fitzgerald and Emerson he was certainly doing all right. Best performance in the film is that of Walter Brennan and given the wide divergence in their politics between Garfield and Brennan, it must have been an interesting set.Nobody Lives Forever is all right, but it had the potential to be so much better.