A solid film noir starring the inimitable Robert Mitchum as a small-time hood who's given up his crime career and now makes a living pumping gas! Unfortunately for him, his past is about to catch up with him in the form of a debt owed to Kirk Douglas's nasty gangster. Douglas's mistress, Kathie, absconded with $40,000 and Douglas wants it back, so he employs Mitchum to track the woman down.
Unfortunately, Kathie is a classic femme fatale - played with full-scale conniving relish by Jane Greer - and Mitchum soon finds himself falling for her ample charms. What follows then is a ride of betrayal, murder, and of course death, all ably filmed by the great Jacques Tourneur (NIGHT OF THE DEMON). Much of the fun in BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH comes from the contrast between Douglas's youthful evil and Mitchum's laid back laconic style, and there are the requisite plot elements to enjoy here: sudden character betrayals, bursts of shocking violence, a memorable ending, and lots of smouldering tension.
Unfortunately, Kathie is a classic femme fatale - played with full-scale conniving relish by Jane Greer - and Mitchum soon finds himself falling for her ample charms. What follows then is a ride of betrayal, murder, and of course death, all ably filmed by the great Jacques Tourneur (NIGHT OF THE DEMON). Much of the fun in BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH comes from the contrast between Douglas's youthful evil and Mitchum's laid back laconic style, and there are the requisite plot elements to enjoy here: sudden character betrayals, bursts of shocking violence, a memorable ending, and lots of smouldering tension.