Return Fire (film, 1950)

In November 1948, former tankman Bob Cory ( Gordon MacRae ), who was seriously injured at the end of World War II , undergoes treatment at the Birmingham Veterans Hospital in Van Nyce, California . He is looked after by a young attractive nurse Julie Benson ( Virginia Mayo ), with whom he develops a romantic relationship. Bob's comrade-in-arms, Steve Connolly ( Edmond O'Brien ) arrives at the hospital to discuss with him plans to buy a ranch in Arizona , which they dreamed about at the front. Alone with Steve, Julie tells him that for health reasons, Bob is unlikely to be able to manage the ranch in the next year or two. Steve promises to talk with a friend about this, but he does not dare to destroy his dream. Then Steve suddenly stops visiting Bob. On Christmas Day , when Bob is recovering from the last, thirteenth operation, Steve never shows up. Julie comforts him, and as a token of love, Bob gives her a valuable brooch. Later that evening, when under the influence of sleeping pills, Bob is half asleep, a beautiful woman comes into his ward, who speaks with an Austrian accent ( Viveka Lindfors ). She reports that Steve had a terrible accident in which he broke his spine . Steve suffers and wants to die, but she is not able to help him pass away. The woman asks Bob to help her, and Bob promises to do everything in his power as soon as he leaves the hospital, and asks to leave her address. After these words, Bob goes into a dream, and the woman disappears. When Bob the next day talks about the lady’s visit to the doctor, he does not believe him, considering it a hallucination under the influence of drugs. However, Bob continues to insist on his own even after they bring him a telegram from Steve from Chicago , who says that everything is fine with him.

Soon after the New Year, Bob is discharged from the hospital. He is met by two Los Angeles police detectives, escorting to his boss, Captain Garcia ( Ed Begley ). He tells him that Steve is wanted on suspicion of killing a certain Solly Blaine ( Richard Robert ), a successful professional player who was shot dead in his house on December 4 through a window. According to Garcia, on this day, Steve had a quarrel with Blaine in the hotel where he lived. The police also know that Steve was once involved in gambling in New York , for which he was detained several times by the police. And although during the war, Steve proved himself worthy, nevertheless, Garcia believes that he could return to his former affairs. However, Bob does not believe that his friend could have committed the murder, and talks about the mysterious lady who visited him in the hospital. Garcia also reports that a telegram from Steve from Chicago was actually sent by Julie to comfort Bob.

Learning from Garcia that Steve lived at the Fremont Hotel in Los Angeles , Bob decides to stay in the room his friend was in. There, he meets Sybil ( Aida Moore ), a talkative elderly cleaner who reports that Mr. Blaine often visited Steve at a hotel, and on the night of the murder they argued over the $ 40,000 that Solly claimed he owed him . She also gives Bob the visiting card of the Glendale funeral home that Steve left in his room. Bob comes to the funeral home, which, as it turns out, is run by his former comrade Ben Arnaud ( Dane Clark ), who once had his own nightclub in New York. Ben says that he first met Steve about two months ago when he went to watch boxing. There, to his surprise, he recognized Steve in one of the boxers. When, after the battle that ended in the defeat of Steve, Ben asked him why he had taken up boxing at that age, he only answered that he was paid $ 50 for it. Ben offered to get him a job, but after that one meeting, Steve never showed up.

Bob meets Julie in a restaurant, not understanding how Steve could box for some 50 dollars and soon after that argue with Blaine about 40 thousand dollars. At the suggestion of Julie, to sort it out, they come home together to Mrs. Blaine ( Frances Robinson ). She says that she did not know anything about friends or about her husband’s affairs, except that he earned his living as a professional player, and she really didn’t like it. On the day of his death, Blaine came home very pleased, saying that he had won 40 thousand dollars, and that now their life would change. However, while she was in the kitchen, someone from the street shot twice at her husband, seriously injuring him. The dying Blaine asked to call Dr. Ensted ( Mack Williams ) to him, but the doctor arrived only stated his death. Returning to the hotel, Bob finds out from the administrator whom Steve called from his room. As it turns out, on December 3, that is, the day before the murder of Blaine, he called a certain Mirne. Having dialed the number, he finds out her address and immediately arrives. It turns out that Mirna left for several days, leaving her roommate, Bonnie Willis ( Sheela MacRae ), the key in the appointed place. Entering the apartment, Bob sees on the table a photograph of a mysterious woman who was visiting him at the hospital. When Bonnie appears, Steve introduces himself as a friend of Mirna, who asked him to wait in the apartment. Talkative Bonnie tells Steve that the photo shows her friend Lisa Radoff, with whom they performed in a nightclub. Then she recalls how one day Steve came to the club where Lisa performed to take her and Bonnie to the apartment of a certain Lou Walsh. At home, Walsh organized a high-stakes game, inviting beautiful girls there to entertain wealthy players. That evening, Steve met Blaine, who had his own interest in the boxing business. Blaine was surprised at the outcome of the battle of Steve, considering his opponent a weak boxer. Going back to the gambling table, Blaine said that he was lucky in the game today, and we must take advantage of the fact that Lou went to the club. When one of the players began unceremoniously pestering Lisa, Steve defended her. They spent the rest of the evening together, as a result of which a warm, romantic relationship arose immediately between them. Bonnie who was watching them was very alarmed, since Lisa was Walsh's girlfriend, and if he saw them at that moment, he could severely punish both of them. After listening to Bonnie's story and receiving from her the address of Walsh, who, according to the girl, is now in Miami , Bob runs away. A few moments later, someone shoots through the window, killing Bonnie with two shots in the back.

Police establish that the killings of Blaine and Bonnie were carried out from the same weapon. It also turns out that Lou left Miami the day before Blaine’s murder, in addition, the Miami police were able to send only the most general description of his appearance. Lieutenant Garcia calls Bob and Julie, indicating to them that their intervention in the investigation led to Bonnie's death, and asks to refrain from further independent actions. During their telephone conversation, Garcia is told that a Chinese man named Lee Kwong ( Leonard Strong ) is in critical condition with a gunshot wound, claiming he has important information about Steve. Garcia, Bob and Julie immediately go to the hospital, where Kwong says that he worked as a butler in a chic house that Walsh bought for a front face for Lisa. After the murder of Blaine, Walsh hid Steve in this house, who spent ten days with him in Lisa’s company. During this time, they noticeably approached, and Lisa persuaded Steve to run together and get married. According to Kwong, Lisa in a conversation with Steve openly accused Walsh of killing Blaine, to whom he owed 40 thousand dollars. Kwong once noticed how at the moment when Steve and Lisa were hugging and kissing, Walsh was watching them from the window. Soon, when Steve stepped into the yard to put the car in the garage, Walsh took it off the brake, after which it accelerated along an inclined path and pressed Steve to the garage, breaking his back. Kwong believes that it was Walsh who shot him after he realized that the butler saw everything and guessed everything. Garcia demands to give Walsh's address, but at that moment Kwong is dying. Kwong's story convinces Garcia that Steve is not a killer. While Garcia instructs to interview all the doctors in the city who could help Steve, Julie finds out from Mrs. Blaine that on the night of her husband’s murder, she called a doctor named Herbert Ensted. After the end of the working day, Julie arrives to work in the form of a nurse, and, posing as his assistant, asks the cleaner to open an office. While she is looking for Steve's medical card, Dr. Ensted comes into the office, but Julie manages to hide in the utility room. She sees how Ensted takes out Steve's card from a locked drawer of the table, about to burn it, but at that moment a cleaner enters the office. While the doctor is sorting it out, Julie grabs Steve's medical card, finding out that on December 14, as a result of an accident, several vertebrae were broken and was hiding behind the door. Freed, Ansted discovers Julie and takes her card from her. When she tells the doctor that it was not an accident that happened to Steve, but they tried to kill him, the doctor locks her in the utility room. After that, Ensted immediately calls Bob to tell him the address of Walsh's house, where the injured Steve is, demanding protection from Walsh in return. Through the closed door, Julie hears their conversation. At this point, Walsh enters the office, killing Ensted, and then hides. A janitor who appeared soon releases Julie, who immediately calls the police.

Meanwhile, Bob is sent to the address received from Dr. Ensted. In the living room of a large mansion, he stumbles upon Ben Arnaud with a revolver in his hand, which declares that in fact he is Walsh. Ben tells Steve that he leads a double life - official as the manager of the funeral home, and unofficial - as the organizer of illegal gambling and a major player, where he acts under the name of Lou Walsh. He further reports that he is in love with Lisa, and, despite all the gifts that he gave her, she remained indifferent to him. But she fell in love with Steve. At Christmas, Ben was expecting Lisa to return home on the doorstep. When she parked the car near the house upon returning from the hospital, Ben knew from her eyes that she guessed that he had deliberately pushed the car at Steve. In a fit of jealousy, Ben pounced on Lisa and strangled her. Then he shot Kwong, and thus got rid of everyone who knew about his connection with Steve and with Lisa, except for Steve and Bob himself. After that, Ben hits Bob and points a gun at him, about to shoot. At this point, Bob is pushing him, and Steve crept in behind in a metal corset grabs Ben by the throat. At that moment, the sound of a police siren is heard, and when Steve puts out the lights in the apartment, Ben runs out into the street and shoots at the police. In response, they quickly kill him. A few months later, recovering Steve leaves the Veterans Hospital. Bob, along with Julie, who became his wife, ride a jeep and take Steve to a ranch in Arizona.

In the 1940s, director Vincent Sherman achieved recognition thanks to the anti-Nazi crime comedy with the participation of Humphrey Bogart “ Throughout the Night ” (1942), melodramas with the participation of Bett Davis “ Faithful Friend ” (1943) and “ Mr. Skeffington ” (1944), and also two female noir with Ann Sheridan - Nora Prentiss (1947) and Unfaithful (1947) ^[1] .

Many Hollywood stars are involved in the film, such as Virginia Mayo , Viveka Lindfors , Edmond O'Brien , Dane Clark and Richard Robert . Virginia Mayo had already achieved considerable success by starting work on the film, playing major roles in such films as the military melodrama The Best Years of Our Life (1946), as well as the comedies Wonder Man (1945) and Brooklyn Guy ( 1946), “ The Secret Life of Walter Mitti ” (1947) and “A Song Is Born ” (1948) ^[2] .

Swedish actress Viveka Lindfors arrived in Hollywood in 1948 after almost a decade of successful career in her homeland. Shortly after this picture, she played in films such as “ The Adventures of Don Giovanni ” (1948), the drama “ From Night to Night ” (1949), and the film Noir “The Dark City ” (1950) and “ On This Side of the Law ” (1950 ) ^[3] . As David Hogan notes, Lindfors “was an obvious attempt by the studio to repeat the beauty and mind of Ingrid Bergman, ” but this was not possible ^[4] .

By the time this picture was created, Edmond O'Brien was known for the historical drama The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1938), as well as the film Noir Killers (1946), Spider Web (1947), and Double Life (1947). and The Act of Murder (1948) ^[5] . By 1950, when Return Fire was released, O'Brien and Virginia Mayo were at the pinnacle of success thanks to the Raoul Walsh film White Burning (1949), in which they played important roles ^[6] . The film “White Hot” also had a positive effect on the careers of co-authors of the script and long-term partners Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff, who took part in the creation of this film ^[4] .

As David Hogan notes, Dane Clark came to the cinema from the stage in the early 1940s. According to Hogan, "like many of the leading actors who came to the studio at that time, he was essentially a character actor, and from the very beginning of his fruitful career at Warner Bros, they intended to use him in an image reminiscent of the more popular star of the studio of John Garfield ^[4] By the time this picture was made, Clark had already appeared in such significant films as the military dramas Destination Tokyo (1943), Fighting in the North Atlantic (1943), and The Thought of You (1944) ) and " The Pride of the Marines " (1945), crime dramas and elms noir " Stolen Life " (1946), " Moonrise " (1948) and " Seductive You " (1948) ^[7] .

Richard Robert played the main and significant noir in such films as “ Woman on Pier 13 ” (1949), “ Port of New York ” (1949), “ Thelma Jordan Dossier ” (1950), “ Call 1119 ” (1950), “ The Well ”(1951) ^[8] .

While working on the film, Sheela Stevens was the wife of Gordon McRae, later she changed her name to Sheela Mackray ^[9] .

According to the memoirs of Vincent Sherman , in 1946 or 1947 Warner Bros. bought the rights to the story of Larry Marcus under the name “ Into the Night ” ^[10] , changing the name of the story to “ Somewhere in the City ” ^[9] . Soon, the head of Warner Bros studio Jack L. Warner turned to Sherman with the words: “I know this is not an outstanding story, but I have six actors who do nothing and only get paid - and I need them to work.” According to Sherman, “the actors Warner lamented that he pays them and they don’t play were Edmond O'Brien , Gordon MacRae , Virginia Mayo , Dane Clark , Viveka Lindfors and Richard Robert ” ^{[10] [6]} . Before that, Sherman had just finished Don Juan 's Adventures (1948), “a lush movie with Errol Flynn , and wanted to try to do something smaller and more personal.” He chose for himself "Hot Heart", a Broadway play by John Patrick about the friendship of wounded soldiers in a field hospital in Burma . However, “Warner did not want to make another film about the war, and instead imposed on Sherman the story“ Somewhere in the City “”, which the director considered “confused and aimless” ^{[10] [6]} . Шерман встретился с продюсером Энтони Вейллером, который признал, что история требует серьёзной доработки ^[10] . После этого, как вспоминает Шерман, он пригласил двух молодых сценаристов, Айвана Гоффа и Бена Робертса, проработав с ними все проблемные моменты истории. И хотя Шерман остался при своём мнении, что из картины всё равно ничего не выйдет, Гофф и Робертс сказали, что им нужна работа и продолжили работать над сценарием. Когда Шерман озвучил свои опасения Джеку Уорнеру, тот сказал, что если Шерман согласится сделать этот фильм, то он пойдёт ему на встречу и подпишет договор на постановку фильма « Горячее сердце » ^[10] . Позднее Шерман написал, что «Гофф и Робертс сделали хороший сценарий, а актёры сделали всё, что могли» ^[11] .

Съёмки фильма проходили с конца июля до середины октября 1948 года. Отдельные сцены фильма снимались в Бирмингемском госпитале для ветеранов в Ван-Найсе, Калифорния , в таких памятных местах Лос-Анджелеса, как здание мэрии, гостиницы Fremont и Biltmore , улица Olvera и квартал Los Feliz , в городе Глендейл и в каньоне Stone Canyon , расположенном в Бель-Эйр ^[9] .

Хотя фильм был завершён в октябре 1948 года, его премьера состоялась только 26 января 1950 года в нью-йоркском кинотеатре The Globe ^{[12] [6]} .

Руководство Warner Bros. было настолько довольно работой сценаристов Гоффа и Робертса, что подписало с ними контракт на написание сценариев сроком на пять лет. В результате на следующий год они выдали сценарий чрезвычайно успешного фильма нуар « Белое каление » (1949) ^[13] .

Overall rating of the film

После выхода фильма на экраны обозреватель « Нью-Йорк Таймс » Босли Краузер дал ему невысокую оценку. Отметив «слабость ударной мощи этой детективной драмы», Краузер пишет, что картина «рассказывает совершенно невероятную историю о том, как молодой человек мимоходом доказывает, что его лучший друг, подозреваемый в убийстве азартного игрока, не делал этого». При этом фильм «без всякого стиля или напряжения шарахается от одного маленького совпадения к другому, пока наконец не указывает вялым, безразличным пальцем на парня, который это сделал» ^[14] .

По мнению Дэвида Хогана, «это не особенно выдающийся фильм, и потому мало знаком поклонникам нуара». Несмотря на хорошую актёрскую игру, а также «мрачную операторскую работу Карла Гатри и сильную постановку великого (хотя стилистически безликого) мастера Винсента Шермана, фильм не сложился». Как полагает Хоган, «сценарий выполнен в характерном нуаровом ключе, и при правильной его разработке мог бы обрести необходимую силу». Однако, по словам критика, сценаристы Робертс, Гофф и Ларри Маркус «были сориентированы на то, чтобы повторить композиционную сложность более раннего нуара „ Большой сон “ (1946)». В итоге «фильм погружает нас в повествование, которое, будучи столь же запутанно туманным, как и „Большой сон“, даже близко не доставляет того же наслаждения. Бесконечные флэшбеки с участием каждого из основных и множества второстепенных персонажей выскакивают с регулярностью весенних одуванчиков, в итоге выстраиваясь в длинный ряд. Через некоторое время зритель теряет концентрацию и начинает воспринимать флэшбеки как отдельные произведения, а не как часть более крупной картины». В итоге получается «совсем не то, чего хотели добиться создатели фильма» ^[4] .

В общей сложности флэшбек используется в картине не менее семи раз — по разу он исходит о капитана Гарсии, Сибил, миссис Блейн, Бонни Уиллис и Ли Квонга, и дважды — от Бена Арно. Кинокритик Лесли Хэлливелл обратил внимание на это частое использование флэшбеков, «с помощью которых пытались разрешить проблемы с экспозицией», однако, по его мнению, «этот приём не сработал» ^[15] . По мнению Хэла Эриксона, по построению расследования, которое ведут Боб и Джули, а также по множественности флэшбеков, с помощью которых передаются рассказы свидетелей, этот фильм напоминает картину « Убийцы » (1946) ^[16] .

Клайв Хиршхорн отметил, что чрезмерное количество совпадений в картине убивает чувство саспенса и рассеивает столь существенный для фильма нуар реализм ^[17] . Киновед Джон Говард Рид оценил фильм как «сомнительный», отметив при этом силу атмосферной операторской работы и качество сцен экшна ^[18] .

Spencer Selby drew attention to the theme of the film about "a war veteran who is looking for his missing friend, stepping on a tangled path of cruelty and murder" ^[19] . According to Richard Harland Smith, "having lain in the Warner Bros warehouse for two years, the film lost its relevance a little, but the theme of the broken veterans who are trying to return to society still remained very significant." At the same time, the critic believes that the film "offered too little and too late after such films as Blue Dahlia (1946) and Crossfire (1947), which showed veteran heroes and their opponents in a sharper and more fiery confrontation, "and therefore," it is not surprising that he did not bring the same money. " Smith also draws attention to the compositional construction of the film, which is divided into “a series of overlapping memories and dying confessions, moving heavily between the story of MacRae in the present and the story of O'Brien in the past, when he was a gangster in the service of a criminal leader,” in while his “Austrian girlfriend-singer ( Lindfors ), by her flirting, brings a mortal threat to their heads” ^[6] . And yet, despite all the criticism, Smith believes the film is “better than his reputation” ^[6] .

According to contemporary film expert Dennis Schwartz, “this Noir thriller of the category Warner Bros. studio rises to a tolerable level only thanks to the play of Gordon MacRae and Edmond O'Brien” ^[20] . Mike Keeney also believes that "this noir detective rises above average thanks to a rather interesting, albeit far-fetched plot, and the strong play of O'Brien and Clark" ^[21] .

Some visual techniques of the picture.

Smith notes that director “ Sherman and cameraman Karl Guthrie created a series of visually impressive scenes, including the ghostly appearance (and then disappearance) of Lindfors , as well as the killing through window shots, which were a screen reflection of the widely publicized real-life murder of gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1947.” ^[6] .

Hogan notes that Sherman and Guthrie did a great job to keep Lou Walsh's identity secret until the finale. Throughout the whole picture, they show either only the lower part of Walsh's body, or give it a very distant plan, or deliberately darken the scenes with his participation, so it is impossible to identify him. In addition, according to Hogan, the two scenes in the film "stand out especially." The first scene is “when Walsh sends a car to Steve that presses him against the garage” and the second scene “when Steve, locked up above the waist in a metal corset and with a terrifying device supporting his chin and neck, rolls down the stairs and rushes like a Golem on Walsh’s back ” ^[4] . However, Hogan disappointed the finale of the picture. After Walsh is killed and the wounded Steve is taken to an ambulance to the hospital, according to the critic, "the film should have come to an end." However, according to Hogan, “unfortunately, the film has an absurd code, which may have been added at the request of the audience after the previews, in which a strong Steve cheerfully runs off the hospital steps, sitting in a jeep with Julie and Bob, after which they go to create their own business at the ranch ” ^[4] .

Actor rating

Bosley Krauser, who negatively assessed the picture, wrote that although “a few good young people, including Gordon MacRae and Edmond O'Brien, ” appeared in it, however, “the maximum that can be said about them is that they play here” ^[14] .

Contemporary film historian Dennis Schwartz noted that “the film becomes a test of the dramatic potential of the singing actor Gordon MacRae, who is actually very good as a former soldier Bob Cory,” further noting that “the play of MacRae and O'Brien is better than what the script deserves " ^[20] . Hal Erickson also believes that Warner Bros. used this film to test the dramatic potential of the singing star Gordon MacRae, and he honorably coped with the test ” ^[16] .

According to David Hogan, “most of the cast is good,” including Edmond O'Brien, Dane Clark and Viveka Lindfors. “Young Gordon Mackray stands out in a rare non-musical role, which, with recklessness and directness, rushes in search of a missing friend. His sincere nature contrasts with gloomy characters that fill a significant part of the plot. ” Hogan also notes Virginia Mayo , who “is courageous and attractive in the incompletely prescribed role of an ardent nurse who helps Bob find out what happened to Steve. The actress is the best in a tense night scene when, with the help of cunning, she gets into the locked office of an unprincipled doctor, where she comes across red-handed ” ^[4] . However, according to Hogan, an attempt with the help of Clark and Lindfors to imitate the play of stars such as Garfield and Bergman does not work. It turns out "second-hand or second-best, and this is not a criticism of Clark or Lindfors. Both play strongly and are well suited to their roles. They simply are not Garfield and Bergman ” ^[4] . The role of Lindfors, according to Hogan, “it was better to give to the diverse and powerful Virginia Mayo”, and the role of a nurse would be perfectly handled by “the unusual and attractive Shila Stevens , who is very funny in the role of a lady who tells Bob a lot about Walsh” ^[4] .

Smith recalls that the memorable image of Mayo in the film " White Hot " was used in the advertising slogan of this film - "The girl from" White Hot "lights again!". However, as the critic notes, Mayo “plays a purely peripheral role here, doing almost nothing until the third act, and plays not a fatal woman, but an upright military nurse” ^[6] . On the other hand, Smith notes the character roles of Ed Begley , who plays “The Los Angeles Police Captain with an Incompatible Mexican Name,” Charles Lane as a Good Surgeon at the Veterans Hospital and John Dean as the “Serene Detective,” as well as Shyla Stevens "In her first role as a doomed girl from the show" ^[6] . Reed also highlights the play of supporting actors O'Brien, Begley, Lindfors, Clark and Shila Stevens, who "played noticeably stronger than the two leading cast members (MacRae and Mayo)." According to the critic, among all "Lindfors stands out" ^[18] .

• Spencer Selby. Dark City: The Film Noir . - Jeffeson, NC: McFarland & Co Inc, 1997. - ISBN 978-0-7864-0478-0 ref = Selby.
• Michael F. Keaney. Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940–1959 . - Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2003. - ISBN 978-0-7864-1547-2 .
• David J. Hogan. Film Noir FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Hollywood's Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger . - Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2013 .-- ISBN 978-1-4803-4305-4 .
• Vincent Sherman. Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director . - University Press of Kentucky, 2015 .-- ISBN 9780813157399 .
• Leslie Halliwell, John Walker (Editor). Halliwell's Film Guide: 1996, Revised and Updated (11th Edition) . - HarperCollins Publishers, 1995 .-- ISBN 978-0-06-271601-9 .
• Clive Hirschhorn. The warner bros Story . - Crown Publishers, Inc, 1980. - ISBN 978-0517538340 .
• John Howard Reid. Great Cinema Detectives: Best Movies of Mystery, Suspense and Film Noir . - Morrisville, NC: Lulu Press, 2006 .-- ISBN 978-1847286857 .
• Patrick McGilligan White Heat . - Madison, Wisc: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984. - ISBN 978-0299096748 .

• Return Fire at IMDb  
• Return fire on AllMovie website  
• A return fire at the American Film Institute website
• Return Fire at Turner Classic Movies