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

The shot of the suspects being rounded up by Diamond is re-used from Lewis's earlier "Gun Crazy"

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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

Mr. Brown: Joe, tell the man I'm gonna break him so fast, he won't have time to change his pants. Tell him the next time I see him, he'll be in the lobby of the hotel, crying like a baby and asking for a ten dollar loan. Tell him that. And tell him I don't break my word.
Leonard Diamond: You must have done something pretty fine to get as high as you are, Mr. Brown. I'm looking into that. I'm gonna open you up, and I'm gonna operate. I hate to think of what I'll find.

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Connections

Referenced in Vision Éternel: Pièce No. Trois (2017)

User Reviews

unacknowledged film noir classic!

It is surprising that the brilliance of this film has not been adequately recognised by the viewing public or the critics. Probably inspired by the prototypical rogue cop in Fritz Lang's "The Big Heat", this film features the crusade of one man - Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde in a super performance) to pin down Richard Conte's smooth-tongued gangster. Struggling to keep away the departmental bureaucracy, he battles singlehandedly against organised crime with a devotion to duty bordering on the obsessional ("It's my sworn duty to push too far").

Despite the absence of any big name in the cast, this film presents all the elements that we have come to love about American film noir - great lighting and photography, tight script ("First is first, and second is nobody"), a great storyline, and some superb performances (Susan Lowell as a society girl - the gangster's moll - is ravishing).

Watch this film. It's time it got recognition amongst the greatest films to come out of Hollywood. Ever.

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