Whiplash

Too bad this promising noir with a solid cast and a Warner Bros. pedigree doesn't turn out better. Certainly Dane Clark gives his central role as a painter turned boxer (!) his sweaty best. At the same time, the statuesque Alexis Smith looks like a Greek goddess even if her emoting is on the wispy side, while Eve Arden contributes her usual witty asides. The problem, as I see it, is with a muddled script and lackluster direction (Seiler). There are echoes in this storyline of Humoresque's (1946) tough guy Garfield turned concert violinist. But that film had a coherent screenplay, whereas this one has something to do with love- struck painter Clark getting involved with gangsters (Scott) who turn him into an expert boxer, with a wild card doctor (Lynn) thrown in. Okay, I'm not the brightest bulb on the block, but I had real trouble making sense of all this and I don't think it was my fault. The various threads are hard to untangle.

Then too, the narrative fails to make much use of the colorful Zachary Scott, who can make any scene compelling when given the chance. Here, I would say he walks through his role, but given his wheelchair, that's not quite appropriate. In fact, the best scene may be the car striking the wheelchair, which may be the most sudden and realistic collision I've seen. Otherwise, director Seiler unfortunately adds nothing, neither mood nor style. Anyway, the total adds up to a disappointment given the promising cast amidst noir's golden studio era.