Roadblock (1951)

Director:

Harold Daniels

Writers:

George Bricker (writer)
Steve Fisher (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

Hot Lead and Cold Cash Outside the Law

Plot:

An L.A. insurance detective starts to get involved with a girl he is increasingly attracted to, even though he sees her as a chiseller...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Robbery | Beautiful Woman | Murder

Cast

Charles McGraw	...	Joe Peters
Joan Dixon	...	Diane
Lowell Gilmore	...	Kendall Webb
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Harry Miller
Milburn Stone	...	Egan

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Goofs:

Plot holes: Miller tells Joe Peters he revealed himself as being associated with the robbery because Peters had said five men (plus the pilot) were involved at a time when that information was not known to the insurance company. Yet, immediately after-wards Egan is cross-examining the pilot and mentioned the five men as though it was a fact, before the pilot actually admitted it.

Soundtrack:

So Swell of You

Good example of the film noir genre.

Billed as the story of an insurance investigator who goes crooked to please his femme fatale but there the similarity with "Double Indemnity" ends.

No twists or turns, no subtleties, this story is told as it is. A plain straightforward account that becomes almost predictable as the plot slowly unwinds from one situation to the next inevitable one. Nevertheless it's good yarn and well worth seeing. Better than your average B film. The outdoor footage gives a good impression of LA circa 1950. Ends with a thrilling police car chase on the LA river(?) and the villain ? ....... we'll you'll have to see it yourself.