Crime

  • Federico Fellini – Il bidone AKA The Swindle (1955)

    Drama1951-1960CrimeFederico FelliniItaly

    Synopsis:
    Aging small-time con man Augusto, who swindles peasants, works with two younger men: Roberto, who wants to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and Bruno, nicknamed Picasso, who has a wife and daughter and wants to paint. Augusto avoids the personal entanglements, spending money at clubs seeking the good life. His attitude changes when he runs into his own daughter, whom he rarely sees, and realizes she’s now a young woman and in need of his help to continue her studies. His usual partners are away, so he goes in with others to run a swindle, and they aren’t forgiving when he claims he’s given the money back to their mark. They leave him beaten, robbed, and alone.Read More »

  • Lewis Allen – Desert Fury (1947)

    1941-1950CrimeFilm NoirLewis AllenQueer Cinema(s)USA

    Quote:
    Fritzi Haller is a powerful casino owner in Chuckawalla, Nevada. Her daughter Paula (having quit school) returns at the same time as racketeer Eddie Bendix, who left under suspicion of murdering his wife. Paula and Eddie become involved; each for their own reasons, Fritzi, Paula’s old beau Tom, and Eddie’s pal Johnny try to break up the relationship. Then Eddie’s past catches up with him in an unexpected way.Read More »

  • André Hunebelle & Haroun Tazieff – Fantômas se déchaîne AKA Fantomas Strikes Back AKA Fantomas Unleashed (1965)

    1961-1970André HunebelleComedyCrimeFranceHaroun Tazieff

    In the second installment of the parodic Fantomas series, the title arch criminal and master of disguise kidnaps prominent scientist Prof. Marchand in order to develop a new powerful weapon to threaten the world. Fantomas is also planning to kidnap another scientist, Prof. Lefebvre. Journalist Fandor (Jean Marais, who also plays Fantomas and Prof. Lefebvre) decides to set a trap for the elusive villain. He disguises himself as Lefebvre and attends a scientific conference in Rome expecting Fantomas to kidnap him. As always, Fandor’s ingenious plan backfires due to the interference of the bumbling police commissioner Juve (Louis de Funès).Read More »

  • Ray Enright & Edoardo Anton – Dramma nella Kasbah AKA The Man from Cairo (1953)

    1951-1960CrimeDramaEdoardo AntonRay EnrightUSA

    “The Man from Cairo”, a Michaeldavid production for distribution by Lippert, with Ray Enright the only credited director on the film print, finds Mike Canelli, the man from Cairo, nosing around Algiers with mystery surrounding the people he meets and the things he does and has done to him, all deriving from the war-time theft of $100,000,000 in gold which lies somewhere in the adjacent desert. People representing many nationalities and reasons are also seeking the gold. It boils down to a battle between Canelli and the original looter aboard a speeding train.Read More »

  • Felix E. Feist – The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)

    1941-1950CrimeFelix E. FeistFilm NoirUSA

    Synopsis:
    Rich Lois Frazer, divorcing her fortune-hunter husband, finds he’s bought a gun. Suspecting he plans to kill her, she calls in her lover, who just happens to be Homicide Lieutenant Ed Cullen. When Ed arrives, the gun gets used…and because of his relationship with Lois, Ed is compelled to compound a felony. The good news: Ed himself is assigned to the case. The bad news: Ed’s hotshot younger brother Andy, a new- minted detective, is also on the case…and anxious to prove himself.Read More »

  • Lance Comfort – Temptation Harbour (1947)

    1941-1950CrimeDramaLance ComfortUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    A signalman on a quay sees a fight between two men. One of the men is deliberately pushed into the water and the signalman cannot save him, but decides to keep his suitcase which later finds is full of banknotes with a value of £5000.Read More »

  • Gordon Douglas & Henry Levin – Mr. Soft Touch (1949)

    1941-1950CrimeDramaGordon DouglasHenry LevinUSA

    Synopsis:
    Just before Christmas, Joe Miracle, a returning WWII war hero, comes home to learn that gangster Barney Teener has taken over his nightclub and murdered Joe’s partner. Joe loots the club’s safe for $100,000 and then finds sanctuary in a settlement house ran by Jenny Jones. Mistaking him for a down-and-out musician, she helps him understand the importance of her work. “Early” Byrd, a newspaper columnist, learns Joe’s true identity and writes a column that puts Barney on his trail. The gangsters recover the money, after setting fire to the settlement house, but Joe steals it again, and returns to the gutted welfare house disguised as Santa Claus, and gives the money to Jenny to rebuild. There, Tenner and his gang catch up to Joe.Read More »

  • Johnnie To & Ka-Fai Wai – Chuen jik sat sau AKA Fulltime Killer (2001)

    2001-2010AsianCrimeHong KongJohnnie ToKa-Fai Wai

    Quote:
    O (Takashi Sorimachi) is the number 1 assassin in all of Asia. Tok (Andy Lau) wants to dethrone him and become the premier hitman in the world. What these two have in common is that they are in love with the same woman, Chin (Kelly Lin). And Chief Inspector Lee (Simon Yam) wants to catch them both. Thrown into a gauntlet of razor blade shoot-outs and a feeding frenzy of warfare, this film is a story about two men of the most excessive lifestyles competing in a world where men die young and the victor not only walks away with the most money, but with the most valuable reputation. Bursting of style and pimp slapped with full on octane entrenched cinema, Johnny To presents his action masterpiece, “Fulltime Killer.”Read More »

  • Mika Kaurismäki – Rosso [+Extra] (1985)

    Drama1981-1990CrimeFinlandMika Kaurismäki

    Plot Synopsis from AllMovie
    This well-paced farce sends up intellectual thrillers as hitman Rosso (the handsomeKari Vaananen, also co-scripter) is assigned the job of eliminating a certain Finnish woman who coincidentally was once his summer love. The reluctant gangster heads north from Sicily and ultimately lands in the remote Finnish countryside looking for his target, Maria (Leena Harjupatana). Rosso and Maria’s brother take off in an old car to find her, and along the way they also manage any number of robberies and quick getaways. Their pursuers are bumped off to the sounds of rousing music and a quote here and there from Dante, who else? While Dante’s comedy was divine, this is good earth-bound fun.Read More »

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