Just watched The Secret of Convict Lake last night and just had to watch it again this afternoon to make sure I thought it deserved 10/10. For me, it definitely does. In two noir discussion groups to which I belong, there's a question of whether a western can qualify as a 'noir." If so, this one defines that category - even better than two often considered and rejected by purists, the Ox Bow Incident and Colorado Territory, both also 20s for me.
It's black-and-white with bleak sets and grainy snowstorm cinematography that is a perfect backdrop for the claustrophobic story in the very small settlement where all our players are stuck. The dialog is spartan noir. We spend most of our time with the convicts and our convict hero, Jim, convincingly underplayed by a laconic Glenn Ford, actually did kill the victim he was convicted of murder for. The twist is that the killing was an accident and the witness lied on the stand saying that it was deliberate murder to get possession of the $40,000 in the bank vault. The liar turns out to be Gene Tierney's fiancee. Three other convicts and fellow escapees with whom he is chained including unctious Zach Scott, brute Jack Lambert and young psycho Robert Hylton. In addition to Tierney, the women of the town trying to salvage their lives and the town include matriarch Ethel Barrymore in a performance as strong as it is underplayed, a well-meaning Jeanette Nolan, a bitter Ann Dvorak (sister of the liar to whom Tierney is engaged) and vulnerable innocent Barbara Bates (Pheobe) from the last scene of All About Eve. All play their roles to perfection and add to the constant atmosphere of bleak tension and general hopelessness.
After 45 minutes to establish all of the above, Tierney confronts Ford to protect her fiancee which results in his obtaining a gun and gaining her affections. When Scott sees Ford has a gun, he plots out his moves and from that point, things proceed very briskly, memorably and grip you at an emotional level (across the spectrum) for all of these characters. The women all have to reflect upon who they really are. The men meet their different fates in very appropriate ways. The resolution is ingenious and packs a punch. As the film ends, we are informed that it is based on an actual prison break and co-habitation of the town by the convicts on the lam.
Obviously, not everything in the film is real but who cares? It all sucked me in and gripped me as much as any of my favorite noirs. The filming of how Scott meets his fate is particularly poetic.
See it! A true hidden gem - will probably break my personal all-time top 200 list.
It's black-and-white with bleak sets and grainy snowstorm cinematography that is a perfect backdrop for the claustrophobic story in the very small settlement where all our players are stuck. The dialog is spartan noir. We spend most of our time with the convicts and our convict hero, Jim, convincingly underplayed by a laconic Glenn Ford, actually did kill the victim he was convicted of murder for. The twist is that the killing was an accident and the witness lied on the stand saying that it was deliberate murder to get possession of the $40,000 in the bank vault. The liar turns out to be Gene Tierney's fiancee. Three other convicts and fellow escapees with whom he is chained including unctious Zach Scott, brute Jack Lambert and young psycho Robert Hylton. In addition to Tierney, the women of the town trying to salvage their lives and the town include matriarch Ethel Barrymore in a performance as strong as it is underplayed, a well-meaning Jeanette Nolan, a bitter Ann Dvorak (sister of the liar to whom Tierney is engaged) and vulnerable innocent Barbara Bates (Pheobe) from the last scene of All About Eve. All play their roles to perfection and add to the constant atmosphere of bleak tension and general hopelessness.
After 45 minutes to establish all of the above, Tierney confronts Ford to protect her fiancee which results in his obtaining a gun and gaining her affections. When Scott sees Ford has a gun, he plots out his moves and from that point, things proceed very briskly, memorably and grip you at an emotional level (across the spectrum) for all of these characters. The women all have to reflect upon who they really are. The men meet their different fates in very appropriate ways. The resolution is ingenious and packs a punch. As the film ends, we are informed that it is based on an actual prison break and co-habitation of the town by the convicts on the lam.
Obviously, not everything in the film is real but who cares? It all sucked me in and gripped me as much as any of my favorite noirs. The filming of how Scott meets his fate is particularly poetic.
See it! A true hidden gem - will probably break my personal all-time top 200 list.