A Bullet for Joey

I was drawn to this one, as many viewers were, by the presence of the great Edward G. Robinson and the legendary George Raft. However, not even their presence can salvage this stinker. First off, one thing must be made clear: there seems to be, in reviews of this flick, the idea that any crime drama in black & white is "film noir," a phrase which is widely overused. This movie follows none of the conventions of film noir and cannot be called noir by any stretch of the imagination. Actually it seems to have the appearance of a made-for-TV cop drama. Secondly, the script is simply atrocious. It is loaded with so many clichés, overripe formulations and contrived dialogue that it feels like it was written by Ed Wood. A leaden phrase like "Women are what make life a pleasure for men," comes to mind. What a howler! Thirdly, anyone with any knowledge of espionage knows that, historically, neither the Nazis nor the Communists employed elements of the criminal underworld; they cannot be relied on. Fourthly, this is as great an assemblage of lousy actors as I have ever seen in one flick. The level of acting is simply terrible, and that includes Robinson, who, as noted elsewhere here, phones in his performance. This is probably to be expected, with such a lousy script. Why he signed on to this effort is beyond me; he must have needed the money badly. And this flick also shows that Raft, despite his reputation, was no great actor. Audrey Totter is a familiar face, but she's nothing to write home about either. Lastly, the concluding scene aboard the ship is so contrived, patched together and full of improbabilities as to defy belief. To summarize in two words, skip it.

I have always been deceived every time I have watched this Lewis Allen film, I don't know why. Despite the fact that two heavies of the American crime film genre are together. Maybe because of the mix up between gangster element and the spy - cold war- one. But it remains worth seeking and seeing only for the presence of those two. I am not sure that they worked together besides.

Almost forgotten film-noir with the pairing of George Raft and Edward G. Robinson. Commies, gangsters and intrigue. A communist spy concocts a plan to kidnap an important American atomic scientist. An infamous tough guy is employed to do the actual kidnapping. At the same time, a determined G-man plans to rescue the scientist; but as circumstances would have it, the communist spy sets into motion the interception of the detective to have him "bumped off". As the cat and mouse activity progresses, the gangster makes his democratic allegiance known...guess what...the world keeps right on spinning and democracy is safe for another day. Am not sure if Robinson or Raft knew who the real star was. Other players in this drama: George Dolenz, Audrey Totter, Joseph Vitale and Toni Gerry. This little escape runs 85 minutes.

Seeing 30s icons Edward G. Robinson and George Raft teamed up in a movie after many years, one would expect to see a reprise of their gangster roles from the earlier period. Not so. This one has Joe Victor (Raft) being recruited in Lisbon, where he has been living - broke, to coordinate a planned kidnapping in Montreal of nuclear scientist Dr. Carl Macklin (George Dolenz). Eric Hartman (Peter Van Eyck) is the brains behind the plot. When a Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable (RCMP) is murdered Inspector Leduc (Robinson) enters the case. Meanwhile Victor assembles his old gang including former girl friend Joyce Geary (Audrey Totter) and Jack Allen (Bill Bryant). Joyce is tasked with wooing the scientist. Allen meanwhile courts Macklin's secretary Yvonne Tremblay (Toni Geary) with tragic results. After three murders the kidnapping takes place and......................... Robinson and Raft were both well past their respective "best before" dates at this time. Robinson (and pipe) sleepwalk through the first three quarters of the film. Similarly, Raft spends the same period in a farm house blandly handing out orders to his underlings. The climax of the story takes place in the final quarter where most of the action takes place. The ending is pure Hollywood especially where Raft's character is concerned. One has to wonder what Robinson, playing an RCMP inspector would look like in the force's dress uniform red tunic, breeches and wide brim hat. Besides I'm sure that he wouldn't meet the force's height and age restrictions. George Dolenz is the father of Monkees' Mickey Dolenz. Sally Blane who plays the secretary's sister was the sister of Loretta Young.

After the FBI, the Post Office, and the NYPD, we travel north of the border to Montreal; where a police inspector (Edward G. Robinson) is suspicious about several deaths and a possible attempt to kidnap a nuclear physicist. George Raft is the mobster doing a job for unknown masters to get money and back into the US. Audrey Totter is tapped to seduce the scientist to make the job easier. Calling this noir is really stretching it. It doesn't have any of the dark seediness that one expects. It's more a straight police procedural. Trotter is the most interesting character in the film. The rest just seem as if they are collecting paychecks.

This is an odd little relic from the 1950s. While there were quite a few gangster films made at the time as well as anti-Communism thrillers (such as MY SON, JOHN and I MARRIED A COMMUNIST), this is the only film I can think of that merges the two genres! In a highly unusual move, the Communists enlist the aid of a deported American gangster (George Raft) to orchestrate the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist. This makes the film's concept rather interesting, but the film itself is hampered by low-energy performances (particularly Edward G. Robinson and Raft to a lesser extent) and poor casting (almost none of the people spoke with French-Canadian accents despite the film supposedly taking place in Montreal). In fact, Robinson sounded pretty much like he was on sedatives! Perhaps the reason for this muted performance was just because this excellent actor was so badly miscast. As a result, it is STILL watchable but also quite skip-able as well.

Edward G. Is the quintessential detective and he doesn't let down in this picture. I can't help thinking of my grandfather when I watch Raft. The low deadpan voice is a dead ringer plus he has a passing resemblance. Those who are into a study of contrasts between Robinson and Raft will surely enjoy this movie. However if you are more for slam bang action at a faster pace I'd recommend skipping this one. Overall it's slightly above average for a 50s caper with a bit of intrigue, mainly because of the two leads.

. . . A BULLET FOR JOEY features tons of bullets, but NOT ONE "Joey." If they had called this THREE BULLETS IN THE BACK FOR YVONNE, they would have been perfectly accurate. ONE BULLET APIECE FOR JACK & NICK also would have worked. TWO BULLETS AND ERIC BITES THE DUST could have summed up this flick nicely. Or CONSTABLE PERCY DID NOT HAVE A GUN, SO WE CONSERVED OUR BULLETS AND USED A CLUB might not have fit on many theater marquees, but at least it would be apt. Yet, when MGM set this A-Bomb spy yarn in Canada in 1955, the studio bravely decided to be truthful in the body of their film (if not with its title). So we learn in A BULLET FOR JOEY that: 1)Canadians are usually very boring. Check. 2)There's a reason that the Beach Boys did not give a "shout out" to Montreal or Quebec gals before the chorus of "I Wish They All Could Be California Girls." Check. 3)If you pit a Canadian cop against a post in an I.Q. test, don't bet the rent money against the post. Check-mate.

**SPOILERS** Nowhere up to the standards you would have expected with actors Edward G. Robinson and George Raft as Montreal Police Inspector Raoul LeDuc and kicked out of the the country American hoodlum Joey Victor in the movie. The film "A Bullet for Joey" has to do with Joey Victor being hired by this shadowy rare book collector Eric Hartman, Peter Van Eyke, to do some work for him in kidnapping absent minded and a bit naive,in all the fuss about him in the movie, physics professor Dr. Carl Macklin, George Dolenz. Prof. Marklin has invented this gizmo that's supposed to revolutionize atomic physic and it's Hartman's bosses back in the Kremlin who want to get their hands on it. This is only a guess on my part in that not once in the entire movie are we told or made to understand just whom Hartman, whom we know for sure isn't a member of the Canadian Mounties, is actually working for! It's only later when Joey finally realizes that Hartman isn't a good guy, or hoodlum like himself, but a slime ball working for Evil Empire the Soviet Union that he change his mind and becomes for the first time in his criminal life patriotic! That's after Joey's boys just about helped Commie master spy Hartman almost get everything, like Prof. Hartman and his gizmo, he was after! Joey also shows his good side by exonerating his old girl friend who wants nothing at all to do with him Joyce Geary, Andry Totter, in a letter to the Montreal Police Department. The letter tells them that she knows nothing of what Joey and his boys,from Chicago Miami and L.A, were up to in kidnapping Prof. Macklin. Even though Joey forced, by paying the almost dead broke woman off, Joyce to get in good with the not all that interested in women Macklin, the only thing that he's interested in is his physics calculations, so she can make it possible for Joey and his friends to kidnap him! That's by Macklin dropping his guard as well as his pants when, in him being romantically involved with Joyce, Joey and the boys grab him. ***SPOILERS*** Somewhat touching final with Joey getting it, like the title of the movie suggests, in the gut from a dying Hartman whom he gunned down in the final moments of the film. That not only prevented Hartman from getting Prof. Macklin back to the USSR where his services in nuclear physics would be greatly appreciated but made Joey a hero in laying his life down for his country when it really needed him.

Despite its fascinating writing and editing credits, this movie emerges as a surprisingly dull little "B"-grader, not only paced with the speed of a snail but full of more empty talk than a bag-pipe. The characters could not even justly be described as one-dimensional. They are mere shadows that unconvincingly act out the hollow and threadbare plot. Certainly pros like Robinson and Van Eyck do manage to breath a bit of life into their portrayals, but insufficiently virile to overcome the inertia of Mr Allen's studiously slow, uninvolving handling. It's hard to believe tutor and text book author, Leon Barsha, had anything to do with the editing. The insertion of stock travelogue footage is clumsy in the extreme. Other credits are likewise patently routine. Considerable pruning would definitely help the film, although Miss Totter is likely to remain a firm liability. Mr Letondal would also stay far more colorless than the screenplay demands. Last but not least, the unconvincingly patriotic climax is something not easily overcome.