IMDb RATING
7.3/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.
Charles Bronson
- Ben Hastings
- (as Charles Buchinsky)
Nedrick Young
- Gat Morgan
- (as Ned Young)
Dub Taylor
- Gus Snider
- (as Dubb Taylor)
Iris Adrian
- Hastings' Girlfriend
- (uncredited)
Joe Bassett
- Cop
- (uncredited)
Charles Cane
- Detective
- (uncredited)
Timothy Carey
- Johnny Haslett
- (uncredited)
Tom Clarke
- Salvation Army Singer
- (uncredited)
Fred Coby
- Cop in Squad Car
- (uncredited)
Dennis Dengate
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to an interview on US DVD, Jack L. Warner originally wanted Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner to star in the movie, but André De Toth vehemently protested this. Warner was fed up after a long argument and told De Toth he could make the movie any way he wanted, but it had to be in two weeks, which suited De Toth since he finished under schedule and under budget with his preferred star, Sterling Hayden.
- GoofsWhen Gat Morgan comes to Steve and Ellen Laceys' apartment, he brandishes a Smith & Wesson .38 special with a 2.5" barrel. When Steve's parole officer arrives, detective Lt. Sims hands the gun that Steve Lacey took from Morgan to parole officer O'Keefe. The revolver now has a 4" barrel and appears to be a Colt Police Positive.
- Quotes
Det. Lt. Sims: You know, it isn't what a man wants to do, Lacey, but what he has to do. Now take me - I love to smoke cigarettes, but the doctors say I can't have them. So what do I do? I chew toothpicks, tons of them.
- ConnectionsEdited from Gun Crazy (1950)
Featured review
It's too bad Andre De Toth didn't contribute more to the noir cycle, because on the evidence he was a natural (plus he was married to early-noir icon Veronica Lake). The Pitfall, made in 1948, looks more and more like one of the best, and most central, movies in the cycle, but (except for the early, more gothic Dark Waters) De Toth only returned to it once, with Crime Wave. Its story is not a fresh one: an ex-con trying to go straight (Gene Nelson) is coerced by circumstances to aid and abet a gang of his former cellmates. The uncomfortable spot he finds himself in lies between them and the law, personified by Sterling Hayden as a tough, unforgiving police detective. There's much more attention to character in the film's hour-and-a-quarter running time than in many full-length features of the era; Jay Novello, as an alcoholic veterinarian who doubles as an underworld sawbones, is especially memorable. By any reckoning Crime Wave is a minor film -- even a minor second feature -- but De Toth lavishes easy expertise on it; it's surprisingly well paced, well shot, as well interestingly cut. Why so many talented directors (many of them refugees from Europe) were relegated, in the 1950s, to "genre" movies -- crime dramas, 3-D schlockfests and westerns -- is a puzzle. In any case, I'd give any three of De Toth's westerns AND his House of Wax for just one more film noir boasting his directorial credit.
- How long is Crime Wave?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content