Raw Deal

Joe Sullivan is in prison. He did not commit the crime; he took the fall for his partner Rick in return for a promise of fifty thousand dollars. Rick has no intention of paying. Instead he arranges an escape, expecting Joe to be killed making it. Joe escapes and does not die. Two women are with him: his girlfriend Pat and Ann, who works at a law office. Ann had believed he was innocent and is now in the car almost as a hostage. The three head west. Joe wants both to find Rick and to cross the border. Anthony Mann directs. Dennis O'Keefe plays Joe, Claire Trevor plays Pat and Marsha Hunt plays Ann; John Ireland is in the cast. John Alton is the cinematographer; among the best known names in noir lighting, and this film is counted a principal example of his style. The narration is Pat's; a woman narrating a film noir was unusual for the period. A theremin is used in the music and is heard under the narration. The matter it treats is a choice between two women; the narrative builds it not as a romantic triangle but as a choice of how to live. It was made on a low budget in a short shoot. A scene with Raymond Burr as the villain is counted among the genre's hardest moments. Its limit is scale; the budget shows and the plot is simple. Who it is for: viewers who like film noir and Anthony Mann. Who it is not for: it is short, the plot simple, and the characters types.