From 1950, "Guilty Bystander" stars Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Kay Medford, Sam Levene, J. Edward Bromberg, and Mary Boland.
Scott is Max Thursday, an ex-cop, now turned drunken house detective in a cheap hotel. One night, his ex-wife (Emerson) tells him their little son is missing, and she needs his help.
This film is on a list I have of the top 250 noirs. I have no understanding of how it made the list. It was made for about fifty cents, the film quality is awful, and the characters talk endlessly. The plot is confusing. Other than that, it's not very good.
It is a nice chance to see the lovely Faye Emerson, a prominent stage actress and wife of Elliott Roosevelt. The film also has a wonderful performance by Mary Boland, a silent film actress who appeared in many films including The Women in 1939. She plays the woman who runs the fleabag where Max works, or should I say, sleeps it off.
This film meanders around all over the place, with no structure. The film quality is so bad that the last 30 minutes or so all I saw was a black screen and had to guess what was happening. The strong cast of pros is way too good for this.
Scott is Max Thursday, an ex-cop, now turned drunken house detective in a cheap hotel. One night, his ex-wife (Emerson) tells him their little son is missing, and she needs his help.
This film is on a list I have of the top 250 noirs. I have no understanding of how it made the list. It was made for about fifty cents, the film quality is awful, and the characters talk endlessly. The plot is confusing. Other than that, it's not very good.
It is a nice chance to see the lovely Faye Emerson, a prominent stage actress and wife of Elliott Roosevelt. The film also has a wonderful performance by Mary Boland, a silent film actress who appeared in many films including The Women in 1939. She plays the woman who runs the fleabag where Max works, or should I say, sleeps it off.
This film meanders around all over the place, with no structure. The film quality is so bad that the last 30 minutes or so all I saw was a black screen and had to guess what was happening. The strong cast of pros is way too good for this.