Open Secret (1948)

Director:

John Reinhardt

Writers:

Henry Blankfort (screenplay)
Ted Murkland (story)

Release Date:

14 February 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Dynamite Drama!...will smash you right between the eyes!

Plot:

Newlyweds come to visit groom's friend, only to discover him missing; and their investigation uncovers evidence of a ring of anti-semites terrorizing the neighborhood. |

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Anti Semitism | Beautiful Woman

Cast

John Ireland	...	Paul Lester
Jane Randolph	...	Nancy Lester
Sheldon Leonard	...	Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
Roman Bohnen	...	Roy Locke
George Tyne	...	Harry Strauss
Morgan Farley	...	Larry Mitchell
Ellen Lowe	...	Mae Locke
Arthur O'Connell	...	Carter
Rory Mallinson	...	Chuck Hill
Bert Conway	...	Mace
John Alvin	...	Ralph
Charles Waldron Jr.	...	Ed Stevens
Anne O'Neal	...	Miss Tristram
King Donovan	...	Fawnes, Bigot Gang Member
Leo Kaye	...	Fatso, the bartender

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12757)

Company:

Harry Brandt Productions

Trivia:

'King Donovon''s first movie.

Terrific Poverty-Row Film Noir Rips The Lid Off Anti-Semitic Hate Groups!

The late 1940s saw a brief spate of message movies dealing with anti-semitism, most notably the fantastic film noir thriller CROSSFIRE and the more famous but somewhat tepid GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT (both 1947). OPEN SECRET, from 1948, shares more in common with CROSSFIRE given its noir trappings and thriller elements. John Ireland plays ex-GI Paul Lester who, along with his new wife Nancy (the very alluring Jane Randolph) arrive in town with the hopes of visiting Paul's old army buddy, Ed Stevens. When Ed turns up missing, Paul and Nancy are tossed into the middle of a dark mystery involving a neighborhood hate group whose targets are ethnic immigrant residents and business owners. Chief among them is Harry Strauss (George Tyne) a Jewish camera shop owner who figures prominently in the search for Ed who, it turns out, has been hunted down and killed by the hate-mongers because of incriminating photographs involving a previous killing that were in his possession. The direction (by John Reinhardt) of the film is considerably more lively than most ultra-low budget thrillers and the issues it brings up are actually on the level of those tackled in CROSSFIRE. Much of the dialog is quite intelligent and pungently written, dealing with delicate issues in a frank, straightforward way. Other notably interesting people in the cast are Roman Bohnen (the well-respected left-wing blacklisted actor) as an alcoholic wife-beater and member of the hate group, Sheldon Leonard (a veteran of tons of "B" noirs) as a sympathetic cop and, in a background bit part, King Donovan (from Don Siegel's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). OPEN SECRET has recently been released in a budget-priced DVD and I strongly urge fans of this hybrid noir genre to check it out.