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Desperate (1947)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 1/25

Desperate
1/25: Desperate is an above-average picture produced by RKO before Howard Hughes took over the studio.

It's 50% film noir, and that only happens when Raymond Burr shows up. There's a nice touch of the swinging light during one scene. Otherwise, it's a sappy love story of a couple on the run, and not much happens.

So many times Steve Randall has been shot, but none of the bullets hits him, not even at close range. The same is said for him for failing to look unrecognizable such as shaving his head or growing a beard to escape detection. At least, the film is only 73 minutes long to not let the contrivances bother me overwhemingly.

I've never heard of Steve Brodie before. Looking like an adult version of Keith Coogan, he has done an okay job of playing the doomed man. Audrey Long is typical, having stopped acting not long after to become the longtime wife of Leslie Charteris, the author of The Saint books. When I saw Jason Robards' name in the opening credits, I thought that was the two-time Oscar winner, but it turns out to be his father. Raymond Burr is excellent as usual, and film noir is his strongest suit which has allowed him to appear as a heavy baddie, but this is the first time ever to play one. Hey, Ray, here's a free piece of advice: next time...just kill the guy pronto and move on.

All in all, if not for Raymond Burr, Desperate would've gone from B film noir to straight F turkey.