The Burglar (1957)

Dan Duryea and his cronies rob a fake spiritualist and then take it on the lam to Atlantic City.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

David Goodis (screenplay), David Goodis (novel)

Stars:

Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Duryea	...	Nat Harbin
Jayne Mansfield	...	Gladden
Martha Vickers	...	Della
Peter Capell	...	Baylock
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Dohmer
Wendell K. Phillips	...	Police Captain
Phoebe Mackay	...	Sister Sara
Stewart Bradley	...	Charlie
John Facenda	...	News Commentator
Sam Elber	...	Gerald
Frank Hall	...	News Reporter
Bob Wilson	...	Newsreel Narrator
Steve Allison	...	State Trooper
Richard Emery	...	Harbin as a Child
Andrea McLaughlin	...	Gladden as a Child

Storyline

Dan Duryea and his cronies rob a fake spiritualist and then take it on the lam to Atlantic City.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | platinum | emerald | 

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Taglines:

A trail of perfume...and violence!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Toter lügt nicht

Filming Locations:

1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Samson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the beginning of the film, Dan Duryea is shown leaving a movie theater where the movie Utopia (1951) (under its 1954 American release title "Utopia") starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy is displayed on the marquee.

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Goofs

The 1951 Chevy driven by Nat Harbin is described as "light gray" over the police radio and in the teletype voice-over, yet the description on the teletype reads that the car is "green."

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Crazy Credits

All credits are in lower case, including title card, cast list, crew names and occupations, and "the end".

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Connections

Remade as The Burglars (1971)

User Reviews

Stylised Burglarizations.

The Burglar is directed by Paul Wendkos and adapted to screenplay by David Goodis from his own novel of the same name. It stars Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell, Micky Shaughnessy and Stewart Bradley. Music is by Sol Kaplan and cinematography by Don Malkames.

Nat Harbin (Dan Duryea) is the leader of a small gang of crooks who burgle a necklace from the home of a famous spiritualist. One of Nat's gang is Gladden (Mansfield), the daughter of the man who took Nat under his wing when Nat was an orphan. In return Nat has always looked after Gladden. But once the necklace is in their hands, the group begins to come apart, and with outside forces muscling their way in, it's probably not going to end well…

It sat on the shelf for two years, where no buyer could be found, but then Jayne Mansfield became one of the "it" girls and The Burglar saw the light of day. Long out of circulation it became a film that noir enthusiasts greatly courted over the years, but now it's widely available was it worth the wait?

Well it has proved to be a very divisive entry in the film noir universe. Undoubtedly it has style to burn, director Wendkos has observed some of his film noir peers and dripped their influences all over his movie; and not in a subtle way either. Sweaty close-ups, shock cutting, oblique angled frames and shadow adorned sequences attempt to put oomph in the narrative, while the newsreel opening and amusement park finale scream out that the film wants to be loved by the noir crowd.

It's all very neatly constructed, and with Kaplan's bold brassy score laid over the top, it deserves its noir badge. But it does feel like art for arts sake at times, like Wendkos is working over time visually to compensate for a weak screenplay. It becomes evident that it wasn't a great idea to let Goodis adapt from his own novel, it needed a screenplay writer capable of putting more emotional carnage into the characterisations.

There is no flow to the story and the actors often look lost and not sure where to take the source material to. Even the ever reliable noir hero Duryea is straining to make his character work, a victim of extraneous nonsense that doesn't seem to serve any purpose to plotting. Mansfield's performance is one of the hot topic divisive points, but I don't see how, it's awkward and her limitations as an actress are evident, no matter how foxy she looks. While Stewart Bradley in a key role just flat out can't act, something that draws some of the sting from the finale.

The visual smarts and some nice location photography in Philly and Atlantic City ensure it's not a dead loss, while if you prepare yourself for a character study rather than a pulpy noir pot-boiler then that sets expectation levels correctly. But it's not one to recommend with confidence; even if Marty Scorsese is a fan! 5/10