A Dangerous Profession

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A Dangerous Profession

I wouldn't exactly call this a noir, although it is a hardboiled detective yarn. It reminded me of The Big Sleep mainly because of its rambling story line. Raft is no Bogart and Ella Raines is no Bacall. His stiff delivery gets tiring after you realize he really doesn't have anything interesting to say. Her sultriness falls far short of what's required for the role of bad girl. And her hair is incredibly awful. The photography was above par. When the character of Lucy is introduced in the story, you just see the back of her hat. Then there's a close-up, and well, it's just Ella Raines. The script is a lot of yak, some of it's kinda good, but it's still mainly a yakfest. I gave-up after 55 minutes.

A Dangerous Profession is a dull bail bonds film-noir yarn. I didn't buy what was being sold. Another reviewer stated it reminded them of "The Big Sleep" and I couldn't agree more, this film also had me dozing off like that one. Though, Raines over Bacall any day for me.

A Few Shots with Shadows do not a Film-Noir make. But it adds a bit of Atmosphere to otherwise Mediocre Melodramas and Crime Procedurals. The Overrated and almost always Stiff Screen Persona of George Raft has Puzzled Modern Film Historians. Competent, but Never Compelling, Likable, or even Very Good He managed a Long and Inconsistent Career Playing, well, George Raft. Ella Raines, She of the Piercing Eyes, is the Dame in this Drama that is Mildly Interesting but hardly Essential Viewing. The Plot Plods at a Mundane Pace and it's Talky and Tepid most of the time. Pat O'Brien gives one of His Better Outings as an Ambiguous Bail Bondsman and Partner of Raft. The Ending is Wrapped in a Neat Little Bow and the Direction and Screenplay are Pedestrian. Worth a Watch, just don't Expect a Solid Film-Noir or anything approaching First Rate.

I'll admit the first 30 mins were tough-going; Raft's blank-faced, ironing-board-stiff acting had me dream-casting other actors in his place. Then, with the whole blandness of the scenes and the drabness of the sets along with the byzantine storyline and ambivalence of attitude and the femme fatale lite and the grey moral dilemmas aplenty, suddenly I started to really love it - even Raft's flatness fit right in with the dreary decor and one-dimensional bit players - besides the labyrinthine plot, there is the sheer variety of locations and interaction, including some fascinating outdoor shots in the latter half. It would never win awards - but with the qualities mentioned above - the odd great shot and the occasional catchy zinger - this has an exquisite pleasure all its own. I commend this to your good self.

Joe Farley (Pat O'Brien) and ex-cop Vince Kane (George Raft) are bail bondsmen partners in L.A. Vince gets a call from police detective friend Nick Ferrone. Nick is investigating Claude Brackette. Claude's wife Lucy is Vince's old flame and she convinces him to sign a bail bond for her husband despite failing to raise the required 10%. This is stylized pulp. It's mannered noir. It's deliberately hard at all times. All of that is great but the story is wading through mud. It takes way too long to get to the meat of the story. It's the Muzak. It's the monotone world. It's very static. It's a lot of verbal dancing but in a circular motion. There is a monotony to the flow. It's going and getting nowhere quickly. It doesn't have the action to pump up the intensity until the final five minutes. It's pulp in many sense of the word.

Richard Winnington was a bit unfair on George Raft when he accused him of just going through the motions "without a flicker of expression or removing his hat", since he takes his hat off quite often in this involved but uninvolving tale of bail bond officers, the Dangerous Profession of the title. It's actually far more laid back that the rather dramatic title indicates and too brightly lit to qualify as 'film noir'. Pat O'Brien and Jim Backus (who also supplies the opening narration) seem to be enjoying cynically sauntering about in big suits more than Raft himself.