Displaying items by tag: Russell Wade

SHOOT TO KILL

US, 1947, 64 minutes, Black-and-white.

Russell Wade, Susan Walters, Edmond MacDonald, Douglas Blackley, Vincent Barnett, Nestor Paiva, Charles Trowbridge.

Directed by William Berke.

This is a better than average small black-and-white supporting feature, from the era of film noir, this time a thriller with murders and political background.

It was directed by William Berke who was famous for so many supporting features in the 1940s and 50s, even more famous for making his films in 12 days!

This film begins with a car crash, the death of the about to be DA and a criminal, the wife of the DA being injured, taken to hospital, recounting the story to her good friend, a top newspaper reporter.

With the story told in flashback, the audience has to be attentive, going back to a court case, the success of the assistant district attorney getting a heavy sentence for a criminal. But, then, an eager young woman wanting to get a job as this man’s secretary, encountering the journalist and confiding in him.

A crime wave in the city, the various factions wanting to get to control, the romance between the assistant DA and his secretary, their marriage, and, quite a twist in the plot in terms of the relationship, in terms of political integrity, in terms of infighting, betrayal and murders.

Spoilers: it turns out that the assistant DA organised lying witnesses to his case, targeted his victim, plays off the different factions against each other. And, spoilers again, quite a surprise when the doctor officiating at the wedding is revealed to be the condemned man in the court case, already married to the secretary…

But, it doesn’t end there, quite number of set-ups, revelations about the secretary and her relationship with the targeted criminal… And all in 64 minutes.