RAILROADED (DVD/1947) DVD

Railroaded
One of director Anthony Mann's earlier films, Railroaded features John Ireland as Duke Martin, a seedy criminal looking to skim off of his boss' money. Instead of making the extra cash by his usual means--a small gambling operation run by beautician Clara Cahhoun (Jane Randolph)--Duke (Ireland) chooses instead to hold up the beauty parlor at gunpoint. Things go awry, however, when the cops hear Calhoun's (Randolph) assistant scream in terror. In a spray of gunfire, both a policeman and Martin's partner in crime are killed. Meanwhile, a local delivery boy is accused of killing the police officer. Detective Mike Ferguson (Hugh Beaumont) is assigned to the case, and quickly begins to butt heads with Duke, who he realizes from the start is up to no good. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Cast John Ireland as Duke Martin Sheila Ryan as Rosa Ryan Hugh Beaumont as Mickey Ferguson Jane Randolph as Clara Calhoun Ed Kelly as Steve Ryan Charles D. Brown as Capt. McTaggart Clancy Cooper as Chubb Peggy Converse as Marie Hermine Sterler as Mrs. Ryan Keefe Brasselle as Cowie Roy Gordon as Ainsworth

Crew Perry Smith - Art Director Frances Ehren - Costume Designer Anthony Mann - Director Louis H. Sackin - Editor Alvin Levin - Composer (Music Score) Irving Friedman - Musical Direction/Supervision Tom Tuttle - Makeup Ern Westmore - Makeup Guy Roe - Cinematographer Charles "Chuck" Riesner - Producer Armor E. Marlowe - Set Designer Robert P. Fox - Set Designer Gertrude Walker - Screen Story John C. Higgins - Screenwriter

Railroaded
Though definitely a "B" movie, Railroaded has a number of "A" list elements to recommend it, not the least of which is John Ireland's deliciously macabre performance as the villain of the piece. Cold-blooded and irredeemably nasty, Ireland's heartless performance verges on the perverse; he's not a man who necessarily enjoys killing (one gets the sense that "enjoy" is not a word in the character's vocabulary), he's just a man who seems to kill as a way of passing the time, and Ireland does full justice to the character. Railroaded also benefits from Anthony Mann's terse, tense, and atmospheric direction, which revels in the lights and shadows (mostly the latter) of Guy Roe's evocative camerawork. While Hugh Beaumont's detective is a bit stiff, he's still effective, and there's very fine work from Jane Randolph and Ed Kelly and a mostly solid contribution from Sheila Ryan; the cat fight between Ryan and Randolph is a special delight. The script is Railroaded's weakness, fairly predictable and much too superficial, despite a few nice bits (the suspicious manner in which cops are treated by Ryan and Kelly, a crime boss who enjoys Oscar Wilde). The screenplay doesn't derail Railroaded, but it does keep it from being a top-notch oir hriller. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: Additional Features: none specified MPAA Rating: DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 74 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 0. Chapters 1. Opening Titles [1:10] 2. A Cop Is Killed [8:27] 3. The Frame-Up [12:46] 4. Shakedown [6:29] 5. Rosa Takes Charge [9:24] 6. Closing in on Duke [9:54] 7. Hard-Boiled Lovers [9:32] 8. A "Jail" Kind of Guy [9:14] 9. Nightclub Shootout [4:57]