Wall of Noise (1963)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Wilson

Writers:

Joseph Landon (writer)
Daniel Michael Stein (novel)

Release Date:

13 March 1964 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Jean Byron	...	Mrs. Harrington
Fred Carson	...	Adam Kasper
Roy Engel
Ty Hardin	...	Joel Tarrant
Murray Matheson	...	Jack Matlock
Ralph Meeker	...	Matt Rubio
Jimmy Murphy	...	Bud Kelsey
Simon Oakland	...	Johnny Papadakis
George Petrie	...	Mr. Harrington
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Laura Rubio
Dorothy Provine	...	Ann Conroy
Robert F. Simon	...	Dave McRaab
Bill Walker	...	Money
Kitty White	...	Singer
Napoleon Whiting	...	Preacher

Runtime:

USA:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Integrity and horse-sense are on the line as illicit lovers race towards the Winners' Circle...

Daniel Michael Stein's novel--about racetrack characters betting with their money as well as with their lives--becomes typical Warner Bros. stew capably filled with their contract talent. Glowering Ty Hardin, built like a brick and possessing maybe two different expressions, plays a well-respected horse-trainer at Hollywood Park who, with the help of a wealthy horse-owner's neglected wife, becomes an owner himself; his new racehorse entry, however, is an untamed wild-card, a fast but stubborn animal who can possibly get Hardin into the Winners' Circle, but at what price? Ralph Meeker oozes stubborn villainy as the man Ty would love to beat, Suzanne Pleshette is Meeker's spouse (with heavy lids and heavy sighs), while Dorothy Provine is Hardin's ex-girl, a fashion model who lays her virtue on the gambling table. The leads all do fine work, but two supporting players steal their thunder: Simon Oakland as Provine's blow hard boss (they have an electrifying scene together near the climax) and Jimmy Murphy as Hardin's former friend but choice jockey. Excellent cinematography from Lucien Ballard (one of the best in the movie business at this time) and a fine score by William Lava make up for lapses in the script; there's some clumsy story exposition at the beginning, and even clumsier character exposition coming in too late at the close. Still, the plot is mounted very well, and though the mechanisms at work definitely skirt '60s-era television melodrama, the formula remains a lot of fun for fans of this genre. **1/2 from ****