The Big Combo (1955)

A police lt. is ordered to stop investigating deadly crime boss Mr. Brown, because he hasn't been able to get any hard evidence against him. He then goes after Brown's girlfriend who despises him, for information instead.

Director:

Joseph H. Lewis (as Joseph Lewis)

Writer:

Philip Yordan (by)

Stars:

Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cornel Wilde	...	Police Lt. Leonard Diamond
Richard Conte	...	Mr. Brown
Brian Donlevy	...	Joe McClure
Jean Wallace	...	Susan Lowell
Robert Middleton	...	Police Capt. Peterson
Lee Van Cleef	...	Fante
Earl Holliman	...	Mingo
Helen Walker	...	Alicia Brown
Jay Adler	...	Detective Sam Hill
John Hoyt	...	Nils Dreyer
Ted de Corsia	...	Ralph Bettini
Helene Stanton	...	Rita
Roy Gordon	...	Audubon
Whit Bissell	...	Doctor (scenes deleted) (as Whit Bissel)
Steve Mitchell	...	Bennie Smith

Storyline

Police Lt. Diamond is told to close his surveillance of suspected mob boss Mr. Brown because it's costing the department too much money with no results. Diamond makes one last attempt to uncover evidence against Brown by going to Brown's girlfriend, Susan Lowell.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster's moll | gangster | murder | gay character | gay gangster | 

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Taglines:

The Most Startling Story The Screen Has Ever Dared Reveal!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unusually for a film noir of this period, the score is not orchestral but jazz.

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Goofs

In the final scene at the airport, the position of the spotlight attached to the car that Susan keeps aiming at Brown changes from the top of the windshield to the bottom and back again.

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Quotes

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond: You think this is mink, Miss Lowell? You think these are the skins of little wild animals sewn together for your pleasure? You're mistaken.
Susan Lowell: Take your hands off...
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond: These are skins of human beings, Miss Lowell, people who've been beaten, sold, robbed, doped, murdered by Mr. Brown.

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Connections

Referenced in Serenity (2005)

User Reviews

Sleazy gangster-noir tale of obsession and revenge..

Now that DVD is fast becoming the medium of choice for many film enthusiasts, some lesser known, lower budget titles are finding their way to wider audiences.

Joseph Lewis's "The Big Combo" has made this trip to digital, and thankfully none of the film's captivating sleaze has been stripped away in the transfer.

What appears to be a fairly stock story of straight-arrow police detective Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) obsessed with capturing a foreboding gangland chieftain, Mr. Brown, "Combo" is an unusually hardboiled, over the top tale of revenge and murder that will please and perhaps even surprise noir and crime-drama fans.

Over the course of the protracted investigation, Diamond, who has nearly lost his badge because of his stubborn determination, has fallen for the boss's dame -- a society girl gone so wrong she figures suicide is the only way out. But Mr. Brown (Richard Conte, excellent as the 'last-name only' control freak) is as omnipotent and omniscient as a head pit boss in Vegas, taunting and manipulating every one around him with an unsettling equanimity.

He tells Diamond, who is virtually powerless to do anything but temporarily hold the murderous Brown and his men on trivial charges, that "the busboys in his hotel" make more money than he does. Even Brown's right hand man, the hearing impaired McClure (Brian Donlevy)is mercilessly ridiculed for his second tier status.

And Brown is obsessed with his prowess with women as Diamond is with capturing him and wooing his moll. The film is filled with risque sexual allusions as wild as anything from director Sam Fuller.

In one scene, Brown manuevers around his girl, stopping briefly at her lips, but then dropping out of frame, seemingly down past her waist. And Diamond cavorts with a "burlesque" dancer (with a heart of gold, natch) who appears in a skimpy outfit that is titillating even by today's television standards.

But the most ribald bits to make it past the censors involve Brown's bickering henchmen, Fante and Mingo. Fante, played by the aquiline Lee Van Cleef, appears to be a typical hood, but midway through the film the lights come up in a bedroom where the two men have been sleeping in remarkably close quarters.

Later, sequestered in a mob-hideout, the two engage in thinly-veiled homoerotic banter that will leave you howling.

As will some of the other scenes -- torture by drum solo, a Casablanca inspired finale. Throughout the picture Brown and Diamond dance around one another sans gene, to the sound of gunshots and acid-tongued banter.

"The Big Combo" is taut, gutter entertainment, delivered in precise black and white. Even if you do watch it on DVD.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swedish Latin German

Release Date:

13 February 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hoodlum

Filming Locations:

Kling Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Security Pictures, Theodora Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1