Railroaded (USA, 1947) 72 min B&W DIR: Anthony Mann. PROD: Charles Reisner. SCR: John C. Higgins. STY: Gertrude Walker. MUSIC: Alvin Levin. DOP: Guy Roe. CAST: John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont, Jane Randolph, Keefe Brasselle. (Eagle-Lion Films)
Many films noir have a familiar plot of a man wrongfully accused of murder, but in this literate yarn, the accused man’s plight is nearly forgotten in light of a far more interesting, and unusual relationship. Masked crooks rob a beauty shop, and in a shootout with the police, one man, a mortally wounded Cowie (Keefe Brasselle) is apprehended. On his deathbed, Cowie says that a man named Steve Ryan was responsible for the robbery. The police, led by Hugh Beaumont (later Ward Cleaver in TV’s Leave it to Beaver!), arrest Ryan, however his sister Rosie (Sheila Ryan) refuses to believe he is guilty of any crime. The robbery was orchestrated by Duke Martin (the great John Ireland), who was in cahoots with beauty shop employee Clara (Jane Randolph, of the famed Cat People pool scene). At one point during the holdup, Duke’s mask slips off, yet while with the police, she says she never saw what the man looked like!
It is rather refreshing (in a sardonic way) to see a “girl next door”, of the post war white picket fence variety, get in a lot of danger to clear her brother’s name. When she turns up at Duke’s nightclub, one look at Rosie through a sliding panel in the bookcase, and Duke is smitten. At first, he offers to help Rosie clear her brother, as the clues that he drops leads her further away from the guilty party (namely, himself). However, his attraction may be attributed to her wholesomeness that he lacks, yet needs.
This involving story (by the great Harry Essex of It Came from Outer Space fame) is so good that you forget how farfetched the Duke-Rosie romance may be. Although the film is filled with stock characterizations, it has its savage moments. Best is the opening robbery, where Duke threatens a wounded Cowie into leaving his name out of the job. Cinematographer Guy Roe’s minimalist lighting captures Ireland’s hawk nose and arched eyebrows with such a hard look that Duke looks properly subhuman.