Cracker (film, 1957)

The picture takes place in Philadelphia . Professional thief Net Harbin ( Dan Duria ) watches a movie magazine at the cinema, from which he learns that the influential spiritualist Sister Sara received a rich inheritance from the deceased benefactor, which included, among other things, a huge estate and an expensive emerald necklace. Nat instructs her assistant Gladden ( Jane Mansfield ), under the guise of a needy fan, to get into Sarah’s house, find out her habits, daily routine, and where she keeps the necklace. Gladden finds out that Sarah keeps the necklace in a safe in the bedroom on the second floor, and every evening she watches a 15-minute news program in the living room on the first floor. It is this period of time that can be used to quietly enter the house and steal a necklace.

The next evening, when Sarah sits down to watch the news, Nat and her two accomplices drive up to her house in a car. Then he climbs up the stairs to the second floor and begins to drill the safe. A passing police patrol notices Net's car parked in a deserted alley opposite Sarah's estate and decides to check if the owner is nearby and why he left the car in this place. The helpers of Nat Baylock ( Peter Capell ) and Domer ( Mickey Shaughnessy ) give him a warning signal. Nat quickly leaves the house, walks up to the car and explains to the police that the car broke down and he went around the neighborhood looking for a car service, but found nothing. After the police leave, Nat returns to Sarah's house and continues to open the safe. At that moment, when the telecast has already ended, and Sarah goes upstairs, Net still manages to open the safe. He quickly picks up the necklace and hides through the window. Thieves manage to quickly leave the crime scene before the police arrive. On the way, they stop to change rooms by car. After they move away, a certain machine that follows them turns on the headlights and starts moving.

Bandits get to the apartment in an old, abandoned house, which serves as their refuge. Jewelry specialist Baylock carefully examines the necklace and estimates it at 150 thousand dollars, which means that on the black market it can be sold for 80-85 thousand dollars. Baylock says he has a friend who bought the stolen goods in Baltimore and is ready to call him immediately. However, Nat decides that they should lie low for a while and wait until everything around them calms down.

Detectives who arrived on call are starting an investigation. First of all, with the help of two police officers who saw Nat at night, they make up his portrait, which is sent to the 15 nearest states.

In the meantime, Domer begins to look with lust at the young and sexy Gladden, which is very annoying. At night, Nat recalls her childhood. He was a teenage orphan when Gladden's father, a professional cracker, took him to his home, educated and taught him his craft. In response, his father asked Nat to take care of young Gladden in case something happened to him. Three years later, Gladden’s father dies during a night theft, largely due to Nat’s fault, and from then on, Nat considers himself responsible for Gladden’s fate.

Seeing that Gladden is causing conflict in the gang, Nat decides to send her to Atlantic City , located 100 kilometers from Philadelphia . She is followed by a mysterious, elegantly dressed man who makes friendship with her in Atlantic City and follows her relentlessly. Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Nat meets a beautiful, passionate lady named Della ( Martha Vickers ) in a bar who invites him to continue the evening in his apartment. After drinking a few cocktails, Della and Nat confidentially talk about their miserable life. Waking up in the middle of the night, he sees that Della is not nearby. He goes out into the yard and hears her talking with a certain man, discussing how they will get the necklace.

Realizing that Gladden was in danger, Nat gathers a gang and immediately leaves for Atlantic City . On the way, Nat's car is stopped for breaking the rules. At this point, a description of Nat’s gang and their car is broadcast on police radio. Domer’s nerves can’t stand it, and he shoots a cop in the face, killing him on the spot. Nat is rapidly moving, but the second policeman manages to shoot at his car several times, killing Domer, who was sitting in the back seat. Nat and Baylock get to the surroundings of Atlantic City . Understanding that the police circle is exposed around, they throw the car, and begin to move to the city through the coastal thickets. They stumble upon an empty shack where Baylock stays, and Nat sets off for the city to warn Gladden.

Nat gets to the Gladden Hotel and calls her from the lobby. She replies that she is not alone, then Nat demands that she immediately get rid of her gentleman under any pretext. When this gentleman descends the hotel stairs, Nat recognizes him as Charlie, one of the police officers who interrogated him at Sarah's house on the night of the robbery. Nat comes to Sarah and says that Charlie does not love her, and that he is only interested in the necklace, so you need to get rid of him as soon as possible. Gladden explains that her connection with Charlie is due to the fact that Nat refuses to see a woman in her. Before leaving, Nat hides a necklace under the pillow of Gladden's bed, which she finds and hides in a music box.

Meanwhile, Charlie calls Delle to Philadelphia and demands that she immediately arrive in Atlantic City . Returning to his shack, Nat meets an armed Charlie who just killed Baylock and demands to give him a necklace. Soon, Della appears in the shack. Nat is forced to say that he hid the necklace in Gladden’s room. Charlie leaves Della with arms to guard Nat, and he goes for the necklace. Ignoring the gun in Della’s hands, Nat exits the shack and calls Gladden to warn her. They agree to meet on the pier near the amusement park. Gladden manages to leave the hotel before Charlie arrives, but he manages to notice and pursues her.

Arriving at the pier, Charlie shows his police badge to the guard and asks him to call the police. Meanwhile, Nat and Gladden are hiding from Charlie in the "horror tunnel", and he loses sight of them. However, when Gladden drops the music box, Charlie again attacks their track, catching up on the platform of the attraction with sea animals. When the audience diverges after the end of the program, Nat offers Charlie to give him a necklace in exchange for Gladden's life. Charlie agrees and lets the girl go. Nat gives him the necklace, after which Charlie shoots him in the back, and the dying Nat slides down the grandstand.

At this point, the police called Charlie appear, who congratulates him on his excellent work. The moment Charlie tells how Net threw the necklace into the ocean before his eyes, Della appears and says that he is lying. The police captain punches Charlie in the face, takes a necklace out of his pocket and handcuffs him.

• Dan Duria - Nat Herbin
• Jane Mansfield - Gladden
• Martha Vickers - Della
• Peter Capell - Baylock
• Mickey Shaughnessy - Domer
• Stuart Bradley - Charlie

The Varayeti magazine wrote about the film: “ Dan Duria , Jane Mansfield and Martha Vickers manage to overcome the shortcomings of the script by David Goodies and the direction of Paul Wendkos , and thus earn a positive rating for his game. This cannot be said of the other actors, most of whom are allowed to replay to the point of old-fashioned chewing of scenes ... The film’s prologue starts out as a movie prologue in which Duria sees a necklace that he decides to steal. This is followed by the theft of jewelry from the estate of the Philadelphia spiritualist, followed by a stop in a dilapidated old house, while the police are searching for evidence and spinning up the work of the law enforcement system. The fundamental idea of ​​the story, taken from the Goodis novel of the same name, is quite worthy, but suspense and action were left behind and drowned in the long monologues of diverse characters about how they got into their difficult situations. Don Molkames’s camera pays attention to the sights of Philadelphia and Atlantic City , while helping to shape the mood of the narrative ” ^[1] .

Timeout magazine wrote about the film: “The first feature of this film noir is that it paves the way with style from the very beginning: in a fictional newsreel, they show the necklace of a rich spiritualist, on whom Duria puts her eye on accomplices, then follows a wonderful a hacking scene given by an impressive cut under pulsating jazz. Having properly captured our attention, the screen version of Goodis' novel, in his own script, is immersed in the study of psychological depths, while the gang is waiting. Duria is cautious and burdened with responsibility for Mansfield , the daughter of a cracker who took him to his upbringing when he escaped from an orphanage. Meanwhile, the sweaty Capell is eager to surrender the huckster's valuables. The conflict is growing, claustrophobia is growing ... well, you know the rest. Wendkos does not change the rules, but introduces a completely distinctive originality in the design of the picture, when the unfolding misadventures lead to something similar to the Wells finale (in the film “ Lady from Shanghai ”) in an amusement park in Atlantic City ” ^[2] .

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