Dead Reckoning (1947)
Humphrey Bogart plays Rip Murdock, an army captain who at the end of the war is to be awarded the Medal of Honour along with a friend and fellow soldier. However the friend turns up dead before he can be commended so Bogart takes it upon himself to investigate.
A genuine classy film noir (Unlike much of Indicator's Columbia Noir #5 box set that this was taken from) with Bogart in great form all dark suited and trilby wearing delivering a cool voice over throughout as he runs into trouble with a local club owner and crime lord as well as trouble in the shapely form of the sexy, husky voiced femme fatale Coral (Lizabeth Scott) who is very much a dame to kill for.
Although there's nothing new here in terms of Noir storytelling - At times Murdock seems like he's rolled in from other classic Bogart noirs - it's the way director John Cromwell seems to let the film flow with dialogue so sharp it lacerates the tongue. Murdock's initial thoughts on Coral are particularly wonderful " I hated every part of her but I couldn't figure her out yet. I wanted to see her the way Johnny had. I wanted to hear that song of hers with Johnny's ears. Maybe she was alright. And maybe Christmas comes in July. But I didn't believe it."
The whole film drips silky smooth chat like that throughout as well as showcasing some hard boiled violence in what is an incredibly enjoyable and gripping example of noir cinema.
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