Pushover (1954)

Fred MacMurray plays one of three cops on a stakeout who falls for his target (Kim Novak in her first screen role) as they try to bring about the capture of a bank robber, Novak's boyfriend. Meanwhile fellow cop (Phil Carey) gets the hots for Dorothy Malone in the apartment next door.

Pushover was an absolute delight. A crime noir with some delicious twists. MacMurray is no hard boiled Bogart or Robert Mitchum but is superbly cast in this as he can't possibly do anything wrong or so they'd have you think. Meanwhile Kim Novak displays all the femme fatale characteristics that would go on to make her a genuine star and work with directorial greats like Preminger, Hitchcock and Wilder.

Carey and Malone's almost sub plot adds interest to what could have been one dimensional characters building up to the movie's great climax and also helps enable the films already voyeuristic unsettling feel.

Director Richard Quine (Who would go on to work with Novak another three times including the superb 1958 witchcraft rom-com Bell, Book and Candle) keeps things ticking over nicely with a fair degree of suspense throughout as well as some delightful will they or won't they? moments - and i don't just mean will they or won't they fall for each other?

Pushover (Watched via the Indicator Blu-ray) was a first time viewing for me last night and i really enjoyed it.

The Brothers Rico (1957)

Coming in at the arse end of the Film Noir era The Brothers Rico thankfully maintains the high standards of so many films of this period.

Richard Conte is superb as the former accountant for the mob who sadly takes his former crime syndicate associates as friends and their boss a father figure rather than the unscrupulous criminals they really are when Conte's brothers, also part of the syndicate, fall foul of them.

It's only when Conte becomes disillusioned and suspicious of why he is being asked to find his brothers does he work out exactly what he's doing - Finding them so the syndicate can kill them - that he begins to work out a way of stopping them.

There's some pretty strong violence in this for the fifties. One man is beaten to a bloody pulp whilst Conte quite clearly shoots a man at point blank range in the head.

Unlike so many Noir films this mainly takes place in the bright Miami sunshine before moving on to Arizona then New York yet it works well. At times i was wishing this was actually in colour to take advantage of the sunny climes.

Whilst not as twist laden as some The Brothers Rico is still a fine example of Film Noir.

As with Pushover (above) this was another first time viewing and was taken from the Indicator Film Noir Collection Vol 4 and looks superb.