26 Oct Cornered
Cornered, WWII movie starring Dick Powell
(1945) The French bride of a World War II RAF pilot has been murdered for her work with the Resistance. When the war is over, the pilot, played by Dick Powell, goes back to France, then to Buenos Aires to track down the Vichy collaborator who ordered her to be executed.
This film noir was directed by Edward Dmytryk, an American director who did several of the films I have already reviewed. (Back to Bataan, The End of the Affair, Tender Comrade, The Caine Mutiny.) During the Hollywood “Red Scare,” Dmytryk served time in prison for contempt of Congress. He and three others associated with this film were blacklisted. Read about what happened behind the scenes in this TCM article.
I thought Dick Powell was a little old to be playing an RAF pilot. Actually he was 41 at the time. Sometimes he seemed to be a little out of it. He kept rubbing his eyes but I wasn’t sure why. Flashbacks perhaps. In the photo to the right, yes he is kissing a beautiful woman, but it was for just one minute and I am sure only so romance could be part of the previews.
The cinematography, black and white with Orson Welles-like scenes and shadows kept me watching. And it was interesting to see the depiction of the Nazi network in Buenos Aires at the time … lots of money, parties with beautiful women, never anything but a couture gown or a fine suit. I kept wondering who was laundering Dick Powell’s white shirts while he was running around the back alleys of Buenos Aires.
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