On D List of Movie Reviews

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Dead Reckoning (1946)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 6/24

6/24: It isn't Humphrey Bogart's fault that Dead Reckoning is a bad movie.

Sure, he looks the part and tries to make the dialogue snappy enough to pass for murder mystery entertainment. But the whole thing feels fake on the film noir level. Every cliché in the book has been used with Humphrey Bogart unintentionally parodying himself. Clutching at straws, the story is extremely hard to follow, having lost me for good during the second half. I hate the heavy voice-over narration.

Many reviewers have said Dead Reckoning was a rip-off of The Maltese Falcon. I actually don't see it that way, but yeah...the true nature of Lizabeth Scott's character is predictable from the start. Rather, it's almost The Big Sleep all over again. There are a lot of silly moments like Humphrey Bogart going ahead with the poisoned drink after being aware of it, getting beaten up savagely but looking fine afterwards, throwing grenades in the office, and surviving the car crash with a simple broken arm at the end which killed Coral whose face was left perfectly intact.

Looking like the next Lauren Bacall, Lizabeth Scott isn't in Humphrey Bogart's league. It's not that she tries too hard, but rather, she doesn't have the acting chops to pass for a believable femme fatale. As a matter of fact, her role was meant for Rita Hayworth who turned it down because of contract dispute. The following year, Rita Hayworth would prove why she's perfect by appearing in one of the greatest films noirs made: The Lady from Shanghai.

All in all, because of Humphrey Bogart, Dead Reckoning seems to be a worthwhile film noir but is finally done in by the convoluted storyline.

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