Verdict
Summary
A twisty film noir that gets shifty about two-thirds in, The Chase is a solid thriller from director Arthur Ripley. The plot and execution are nicely handled in a strong script, and the performances are all solid. The movie sets up its dominoes, which start to fall in perfect succession with a satisfying ending as well, so enjoy the ride.
Plot:
An ex-GI gets tangled up with a crook and his wife.
Review:
Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings) is an ex-GI just released from the war. He’s got a medal but not even a quarter in his pocket, and he’s teetering on the edge of vagrancy in the Florida Keys when a bit of luck presents itself: He finds a wallet on the ground, and it’s stuffed with cash. He takes it, buys himself a hearty breakfast and feeling guilty he walks all the way across town to a nice neighborhood to return the wallet to its rightful owner, confessing right away what he took from it. The owner of the wallet is a short-tempered millionaire (played by Steve Cochran) who has a penchant for abusing women, including his own wife (Michelle Morgan). The rich man has his hooks in all sorts of business and commerce, and sometimes he puts his toadie (played by the great Peter Lorre) on tough cases where murder is required. Sensing that Chuck is an honest man needing a job, the rich guy immediately hires him as his personal chauffer, which means driving him and his wife around whenever the need arises. Over time, Chuck grows close to the man’s wife, sympathizing with her, and then being the ear in which she whispers her desperation. She pleads with him to help her escape to Cuba, and when the opportunity presents itself, Chuck books them tickets to Havana where they begin to fall in love with each other. But then something horrible happens: She’s stabbed to death right in front of him and he’s blamed for the murder. He goes on the run in Cuba, chased by Cuban cops, but then he loses his memory and his entire perception is flipped upside down when he’s back where he started … with a rich man and his murderous henchman setting their sights on him for some kind of ulterior motive …
A twisty film noir that gets shifty about two-thirds in, The Chase is a solid thriller from director Arthur Ripley. The plot and execution are nicely handled in a strong script, and the performances are all solid. The movie sets up its dominoes, which start to fall in perfect succession with a satisfying ending as well, so enjoy the ride.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of The Chase comes in a sweet HD master that was preserved by the UCLA Film Archive. It comes with an audio commentary by quirky filmmaker Guy Maddin, and two bonus two radio shows that adapt the same story as the film. All together, this is one nice package for film noir fans.
