Dead Reckoning

Rip is a paratroop officer just back from the war. He and his friend Johnny are sent to Washington for a medal ceremony. On the train Johnny disappears. Rip goes after him and learns that his friend has been found dead; he had been living under another name and was wanted for a murder. Rip goes to the town. Johnny's girlfriend Coral sings in a nightclub. John Cromwell directs. Humphrey Bogart plays Rip and Lizabeth Scott plays Coral. The film belongs to the postwar wave of noir and carries the typical matter of the period: a man back from the front who cannot recognise the country he returned to. The narrative proceeds in flashback with Bogart's narration, a structure that had become the shape of the genre after The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. Coral is in the femme fatale mould and Lizabeth Scott became known for such parts; her performance was criticised for resembling another star of the period. What is interesting is Rip using his military habits in civilian life; the planning, reconnaissance and trap laying scenes are written accordingly. It is not counted among Bogart's best; the script is convoluted and the plot cannot be followed in places. Who it is for: viewers who like forties noir and Bogart. Who it is not for: the plot is tangled, the connections are weak, and the ending is rushed.