Framed

Richard Wallace's 1947 film is about a man being set up. Mike Lambert, a mining engineer, is out of work; driving a truck for money, his brakes fail and he is stranded in a small town. Paula, a waitress he meets there, takes an interest, but her real intention is otherwise: her boyfriend will steal money from the bank and Lambert will be used as the body to be found, because the two men resemble each other. The film advances by explaining the plan to the viewer early, and the tension comes from when Lambert will see it. Paula goes beyond the familiar female figure of noir; there is as much entrapment as calculation in her decisions. The scenes between Glenn Ford and Janis Carter are the film's body. It is short and the pace does not drop. Who it's for: viewers who like noir and crime cinema of the forties. Who it's not for: anyone expecting an original plot; the film follows a familiar structure.