Cornered (1945)

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

John Paxton (screenplay)
John Wexley (story)
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Plot:

Canadian flyer Laurence Gerard finds that his wife has been murdered by a French collaborator. His quest for justice leads him to Switzerland and Argentina.

Plot Keywords:

Canadian | Collaborator | France | Switzerland | Extreme Closeup

Cast

Dick Powell	...	Laurence Gerard
Walter Slezak	...	Melchior Incza
Micheline Cheirel	...	Mme. Madeleine Jarnac
Nina Vale	...	Señora Camargo
Morris Carnovsky	...	Manuel Satana
Edgar Barrier	...	DuBois, Insurance Man
Steven Geray	...	Señor Tomas Camargo
Jack La Rue	...	Diego, Hotel Valet (as Jack LaRue)
Gregory Gaye	...	Perchon, German Banker (as Gregory Gay)
Luther Adler	...	Marcel Jarnac
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlos Barbe	...	Regules (uncredited)
Paul Bradley	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	Insurance Man (uncredited)
Beverly Bushe	...	Girl (uncredited)
Tanis Chandler	...	Airline Hostess (uncredited)
Martin Cichy	...	Jopo (uncredited)
Richard Clarke	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Ellen Corby	...	Swiss Maid (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
Jerry De Castro	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Gloria De Guarda	...	Girl (uncredited)
Carl De Lora	...	Mean-Faced Man (uncredited)
Rod De Medici	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	M. Trabeau, First Prefect (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Finance Officer (uncredited)
Igor Dolgoruki	...	Swiss Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Joaquin Elizondo	...	Man (uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Hotel Night Clerk (uncredited)
Warren Jackson	...	Man (uncredited)
Cy Kendall	...	Detective (uncredited)
Nelson Leigh	...	Dominion Official (uncredited)
Jacques Lory	...	French Clerk (uncredited)
Kenneth MacDonald	...	Incza's Henchman (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Louis Mercier	...	Etienne Rougon (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Stumblebum (uncredited)
Belle Mitchell	...	Hotel Maid (uncredited)
Hans Moebus	...	Man (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva	...	Police Official (uncredited)
Stanley Price	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Hugh Prosser	...	Police Assistant (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	Second Prefect (uncredited)
Milton Wallace	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Al Walton	...	Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward Dmytryk

Writing credits
John Paxton		(screenplay)
John Wexley		(story and adaptation)
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
Adrian Scott	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Harry J. Wild		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joseph Noriega

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Renié		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ruby Rosenberg	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Terry Kellum	....	sound
Richard Van Hessen	....	sound
James G. Stewart	....	sound (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Gil Grau	....	orchestrator
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Leslie Urbach	....	dialogue director
Ellen Corby	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1946) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1954) (Finland) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Pictures (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2003) (Finland) (TV)
• Pan Vision Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (included in "Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 5")
• RKO Radio Films (19??) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Odeon Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #11040) | Finland:K-16 | Australia:M | Netherlands:18 (1949) (re-rating on appeal)

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Luther Adler is given a special solo credit card at the film's conclusion.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the window of the Bern insurance company, the German word for insurance, "Versicherungen" is misspelled "Vesicherungen".

Quotes:

Melchior Incza:There are still one or two good things left in this sordid world if one knows where to look for them. I'm afraid, however, that the quality of the liquor is holding up better than the quality of the women. You an American?
Laurence Gerard:No.
Melchior Incza:Good. I find Americans a little abrupt in their approach to both subjects.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crossfire (1947)

An early noir, prototypical in many ways and strong, if confusing, overall

Cornered (1945)

"You can't be serious," the cheerful man said to Dick Powell, playing an ex-soldier in post-war Argentina. "I'm always serious," Powell replies. And he is. This defines the actor, and the character, and the doggedness of this character's pursuit of some mystery in the movie. It's impressive and wearing--a little humor might make him more human, yes, and it would also make the move more watchable. The cheerful man is a mystery, too, played with usual irony and crossed agendas by Walter Slezak (seen in a similar role in "Born to Kill").

Director Edward Dmytryk is as usual just short of superb. I don't think he has a bad film, but he often worked with compromised material (the story here is an example) or he worked too quickly (my guess) to pull together something extraordinary. But putting it this way is meant to say this movie has lots of aspects that are great.

One strength is the section of shots of what looks like genuine war torn France made months after the end of fighting. Another highlight is the film noir style throughout--the lighting, the clipped dialog, the lone man against the world, the brooding depression. Powell is his own kind of attraction. As offputting as his anger can get after awhile, it's exactly what makes him good, bullheaded and bulldozing his way through a complex network of enemies (who would really just kill him in short order if this was a realistic film, which no noir is).

The plot is unusually hard to follow (though other noirs come close, like "The Big Heat"). And the antagonists are largely only talked about--Powell is searching for someone, and that person and his collaborators are either unseen or so duplicitous you don't know where he stands, and so the ominousness gets vague, but also beautifully diffuse and omnipresent. It is this oppressiveness that is part of the success here, even as you get lost with the details of the plot. There are some nice night shots (one briefly in the park is ominous) and many facial close ups. There is a terrific conversation on a subway platform with the noise of the cars drowning out the talk now and then, great audio effect. And so the filming is worth the ride alone at times. The music is intense and dramatic, the bit actors really powerful even if they sometimes do foolish things (the valet getting shot, or half of the things Powell does).

In the film noir "cycle" this is early--the core films come after WWII, so this, along with "Double Indemnity," is cutting edge in that sense. It's also definitive in its mood. It's not a crime film, not a gangster story (which is where the hard film style has its American roots). It's a plot about how a person tries to rearrange his life after having it messed up, internally and externally, by the war. Powell is a perfect early noir leading male (the other famous one in the 1940s is Bogart). So this is a critically important film, maybe more important than truly enjoyable, but if you like noir it'll be terrific enough to hold you. If you aren't predisposed to like this kind of story, you'll find it meandering and dull and confusing. Me? I'm predisposed to like it, and I did, and I'll even watch it again, probably figuring it out a little more and enjoying it better.