The Burglar (1957)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

David Goodis (novel)
David Goodis (screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

A trail of perfume...and violence!

Plot:

Dan Duryea and his cronies rob a fake spiritualist and then take it on the lam to Atlantic City. |

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Dan Duryea	...	Nat Harbin
Jayne Mansfield	...	Gladden
Martha Vickers	...	Della
Peter Capell	...	Baylock
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Dohmer
Wendell K. Phillips	...	Police Captain
Phoebe Mackay	...	Sister Sara
Stewart Bradley	...	Charlie
John Facenda	...	News Commentator
Sam Elber	...	Person
Frank Hall	...	News Reporter
Bob Wilson	...	Newsreel Narrator
Steve Allison	...	State Trooper
Richard Emery	...	Harbin as a Child
Andrea McLaughlin	...	Gladden as a Child

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Kellman had difficulty finding a buyer for the film. Finally, Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn said that he would do Kellman "a favor" and "take it off his hands" if the film's director, Paul Wendkos, was part of the deal.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Le casse (1971)

An Arty Thriller That Works

I saw this film a long time ago and was tremendously impressed, almost hynotized, by its technique. It was directed by Paul Wendkos, who's since gone on to a successful career in television, but who was for a while considered an up and coming director of movies. The stars, Dan Duryea and Jayne Mansfield, never quite achieved the kind of success many had envisioned for them. Duryea's career was sidetracked by Richard Widmark, and Mansfield never replaced Marilyn Monroe. Part of the charm of this film is watching small timers play small timers in a small movie that didn't cost a lot of money and which few people saw or want to see because no one connected with it is famous (though Jayne has her fans I guess). To make matters worse, the film is arty, full of offbeat camera angles and strange lighting that sometimes makes people look startled, as if they're continually having their picture taken. It's a tawdry tale about little people with big problems, and it works. For all I know it could be a work of art. The story is mostly about a jewel robbery, but it's also about the strange, almost incestuous relationship between Dan and Jayne, which both does and doesn't have a whole lot to do with jewels. There is a very bad guy involved who comes across like a young Senator Joe McCarthy. There are scenes in an amusement park; and more scenes in an empty stadium. I'm not sure why. The films is dazzling and ambitious and pretentious, so much so that it's beyond mere film noir as such; it's more like art noir.