Coming out of it was like after being tapped on the button. Everything foggy – fur in my throat, an anchor on my head, and ringing in my ears.
Today on the Classic Movie Reviews Podcast, we are taking on Dead Reckoning (1947). We are going with a classic Film-Noir in honor of Noirvember.
Early on, this movie was not well respected. Lizabeth Scott was often paned as an actress. However, over time, fans began to appreciate her work more, and before she died, she was able to see an increased appreciation of her films. She is paired with the great Humphrey Bogart, Wallace Ford, and a playing the heavy is Morris Carnovsky.
This film has a fairly low rating of 7.1[1] on iMDB.com. It didn’t do better on rottentomatoes.com, with 67 percent on both the Tomatometer and on audience approval[2]. The New York Times [3] [4] was kind to Bogart and said his dialogue was better than he had had in a while. They panned Lizabeth Scott for her deadpan expression and bad lines. I have to admit there is one scene very near the end where she doesn’t even seem like she is trying. But overall, she fits this role pretty well. I have to say the film is not that bad. It is told mostly in flashback, and the bad guys and the Femme Fatale are worth the time.
So, let’s get going on the actors.
Actors – Dead Reckoning (1947)
Returning
The always fantastic Humphrey Bogart played Capt. ‘Rip’ Murdock. However, around 47 years old, he was a little long in the tooth for a returning World War II combat veteran.
Lizabeth Scott played ‘Dusty’ Chandler. Scott was first introduced in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). She was panned for some of her lines in this film. But hey, she didn’t write it.
Always tough, Robert Ryan was uncredited as a detective. He was first covered in the Battle of the Bulge (1965). Ray Teal was uncredited as a Motorcycle Cop. Teal was first covered in the western The Command (1954). The always interesting Wallace Ford played McGee, a yegg. Ford was first covered in the intense western Warlock (1959)
New
Morris Carnovsky played villain Martinelli. Carnovsky was born in St. Louis in 1897. Following high school, he attended Washington University in St. Louis. He began working in stock theater, and by 1928 he was in New York working on Broadway. Carnovsky was a founding member of New York’s Group Theatre. Carnovsky was a member of the group from 1931 until its demise in 1940.
Carnovsky’s first serious film was The Life of Emile Zola (1937). He continued with films such as Edge of Darkness (1943), Film-Noir Dead Reckoning (1947), Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), and Film-Noir Gun Crazy (1950).
In Hollywood, Carnovsky was a founder of the Actors Project and was active in the Communist Party. In 1952, Elia Kazan and Sterling Hayden testified before the unamerican House Unamerican Activities Committee and named names. Carnovsky was called before the committee and refused to name names. He was blacklisted from movies. However, he was able to continue to act on stage. Carnovsky made other movies but was not able to restart his career. He died in 1992 at the age of 94.
William Prince was cast as Army Sgt. Johnny Drake. Prince was born in 1913 in New York State. Prince began working in film with Destination Tokyo (1943). Other good films include Objective, Burma! (1946), Film-Noir Dead Reckoning (1947), and Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). However, his career didn’t catch fire until he switched to television generally and soap operas specifically. He worked on television and did an occasional movie until 1994. Films during this period include The Stepford Wives (1975), Network (1976)[5], and Spies Like Us (1985). He died in 1996 at the age of 83.
Marvin Miller deranged killer Krause. Miller was born in St. Louis in 1913. After high school, he attended Washington University in St. Louis. At university, he studied drama and began professional radio work in his freshman year. Following graduation, he moved to Chicago and worked on the radio as well as acting.
His first movie was Blood on the Sun (1945) and starred James Cagney. He appeared in Film-Noirs, such as The Brasher Doubloon (1947) and Dead Reckoning (1947). Other movies include Deadline at Dawn (1946), The Golden Horde (1951), and Peking Express (1951). He continued to work in film and television until 1985, including voice work on animated series. He had two uncredited voice roles of extra note. These are Forbidden Planet (1956) where he was the voice of Robby the Robot and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) where he did the narration. He was also a television game show host on ‘The Millionaire.’ 1955-1960. He died in 1985 before his last film was released.
George Chandler played bartender Louis Ord. Chandler was born in Illinois in 1898. Chandler served in U.S. Army during World War I. After the war, he attended the University of Illinois and earned a living as a jazz violinist. Chandler worked in vaudeville and began making shorts in 1928. The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) starring W.C. Fields, is considered to be one of his best.
Chandler was a prolific actor and an amazing 462 film and television credits. Director William A. Wellman cast Chandler in twenty films he directed. Some of Chandler’s better movies include Libeled Lady (1936), A Star Is Born (1937), In Old Chicago (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Tobacco Road (1941), The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), Roxie Hart (1942), Since You Went Away (1944), Battleground (1949), and The High and the Mighty (1954). Chandler died in 1985.
Story – Dead Reckoning (1947)
In Gulf City, a beaten and bruised Capt. ‘Rip’ Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) now in civilian closes is wandering the streets, trying to avoid the police. He ducks into a church to hide. Rip sees two priests talking, one is in robes and the other a military uniform. He speaks to the military Chaplin Father Logan (James Bell), who is known for parachuting with the men in World War II. They make it clear that Rip is not Catholic, which seems a little odd. Rip says he must tell his story to someone he can trust.
Rip says the cops and some rough gangsters are after him. Rip says that a few days earlier, he and Sgt. Johnny Drake (William Prince) were flown from France on a special bomber. They didn’t know why they were being sent back. They were picked up by a Colonel in New York and put on a train for Washington, D.C. Prewar Johnny was a professor, and Rip ran a fleet of taxis in St. Louis. Does this mean he is a small-time gangster? Johnny always puts his college pin in his mouth when he changes clothes. He and Rip have talked about a girl Johnny knew back home who had a husky voice.
Rip has picked the pocket of the Colonel and is trying to find out information when they are busted by the Colonel. Johnny drops his pen and says ‘John Joseph Preston Yale 1940.’ Clearly not the name he joined the military with. Rip fesses up, and finally, the Colonel tells them they are being taken to Washington, and Johnny is going to get the Congressional Medal of Honor, and Rip will be getting the Distinguished Service Cross.
Johnny is not happy about the news and being shown on the newsreels. In Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection, some reporters come on the train. Rip goes outside, and Johnny ducks out the back and jumps another train.
Later Rip calls Yale and tries to get the address of John Joseph Preston. In Philly, Rip tells the general that he is going after Johnny, but he doesn’t want the Army investigators involved. It also seems he refuses his medal.
Rip travels to the last town where Preston lived, Gulf City, Florida. All of the exterior filming took place in St. Petersburg, Florida. When Rip checks into the hotel, someone has already made a room reservation for him. The desk clerk gives him a message, and it includes the name, Geronimo. This is what early US paratroopers shouted as they jumped out of the airplane[6], so he knows it’s from Johnny. Rip waits for 48 hours, sweating and smelling Jasmine.
Tired of waiting, Rip goes to the local newspaper to look for stories that happened just before Johnny enlisted. Five weeks before Johnny enlisted, there was a front-page story where a rich realtor was murdered, his wife ‘Dusty’ Chandler (Lizabeth Scott) caused the murder, and Johnny had confessed before escaping. The main witness was Louis Ord (George Chandler).
Rip goes back to his room and wonders why Johnny would have come back to Gulf City. On the radio, he hears about a two-day-old car crash with a burned body in it. he heads to the Morgue. Police Lt. Kincaid (Charles Cane) gives Rip a hard time about wanting to see the body. Kincaid takes him back and begins pulling drawers. He finally shows the burned body. Kincaid said everything was taken off the body before it was burned. The only item is a hunk of melted gold with black enamel, Johnny’s Yale pin. Rip cuts out before Kincaid can check his story.
Rip heads back to his room, and finally, he remembers the witness Louis Ord. Ord was a waiter at the Sanctuary Club. The Maître D’ Krause (Marvin Miller) is acting weird like he knows Rip. The club has a Cuban band playing, and people are dancing and having a good time. He goes to the bar, and Ord is the bartender. Ord seems ready to jump out of his skin when Rip starts quizzing him about Johnny. When Rip tells his name, Ord is happy because he has heard of the Captain, and Johnny has been hiding at his place until two days prior. Ord says the only other person that Johnny has seen was Dusty. Ord says he has a letter from Johnny but won’t give it to him in the club. Krause and the other bartender are crowding him. They agree to meet in the morning.
Rip hears Dusty’s husky voice, but he sees her gams first. Rip strikes up a conversation with her and again Krause buts in. Dusty and Rip get a table. She wants to know where Johnny is. Rip doesn’t like her at all, especially since she testified against Johnny. Rip is about to tell her that Johnny is dead, Dusty is called the stage to sing. Not a good singing voice, ouch. During the song, Krause has words with Ord.
After the song, Rip asks her to dance. She is wearing Jasmine perfume. He wanted to have his hand on her back so he could see if the news was a real shock. She passes the test. Mr. Martinelli (Morris Carnovsky), who owns the club comes to their table. He invites Dusty to play some roulette. She says she is okay, and they go to the back. Rip thinks that Martinelli ordered her to gamble.
Dusty loses a lot of money. Rip thinks she is paying off. She is $16,000 down. Rip goes to the craps table. Krause is now the croupier. Krause changes the dice, and Rip starts to cash out. Martinelli gives him the original dice back, and he ends up $16,000 ahead. They go to Martinelli’s office to be paid off. Rip has taken the loaded dice from Krause. Martinelli says he is connected to Detroit mobsters and Al Baretto from St. Louis. Rip also knows Al. Ord brings in the drinks and tries to warn Rip that the drinks are spiked. He has to drink the drink to keep Ord out of trouble.
Rip wakes up in his hotel after being drugged. The phone rings, and it’s Dusty. She has been drugged also. The dead body of Ord is lying in the next bed. So now Rip knows that Martinelli is involved in the murder. Rip takes Ord’s body and hides it in an industrial laundry bin.
It is not long until Police Lt. Kincaid and another detective show up and search his room. Kincaid asks how long he has known Dusty. The story is that Rip and Ord had a fight at the club the night before.
After the police leave Rip calls Dusty back and asks her to park in the hotel garage at 1 pm and meet him in the lobby. She’s wearing a nice headwrap with a matching bowtie. Kincaid has the lobby staked out. Rip calls Al and asks about Martinelli. Al provides him with a man that can help, named McGee (Wallace Ford).
Rip sees Kincaid and has a bellhop page Kincaid. The bellhop is none other than Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard of the Little Rascals fame. While Kincaid is distracted, Rip and Dusty drive away. Dusty takes him to a place, The Dixie, near Flamingo Beach. Dusty tries to figure out everything during the drive. Rip engages in some full-on 1940s sexism. She confesses that she was not really in love with Johnny.
Rip tells Dusty about the letter and Ord. He thinks Martinelli has the letter, and he believes it is written in their military unit code. He also tells her that McGee is a safecracker aka yegg. Dusty says Johnny saved her from being murdered by her husband. In the fight, the husband’s gun went off, and he was killed. She is concerned that Rip doesn’t believe her story.
They head back into town and head to McGee’s house. McGee has a bunch of military armament in the living room. Rip points out the type of safe he needs cracked. When he hears the mark is Martinelli, he backs out. He does teach Rip how to open the safe.
After they leave, Rip lets Dusty in on the fact the Ord’s body is in the trunk. She blows through a four-way stop and is pulled over by a Motorcycle Cop (Ray Teal). Rip tells him that they are getting married. The cop gives them a break and lets them go.
When it got dark, they drove to Martinelli home and dropped the body of Ord off in the garage. Dusty calls the police and tips off the police about the body at Martinelli. Rip calls his hotel, but we don’t hear what is said. Dusty drops Rip off at the back of the club, and he sends her home. But, not before kissing her. Rip watches Martinelli leave to go meet the police. Rip goes in the back door and up to Martinelli’s office. Rip finds that the safe is open. He goes through the papers, and the letter is not there. He begins looking around the desk for the letter. He finds a decoding sheet, and by chance, he finds the letter. Someone knows on the door, he smells Jasmine, and then someone hit him in the head with a blackjack.
When he wakes up, Krause and Martinelli are there. They want Rip to decode the letter. Martinelli says Krause is a psycho, and he will leave him to torture Rip. Krause wraps his hand and begins beating on Rip. Later Martinelli returns. They prop Rip up in a chair, and Martinelli begins quizzing him again. Rip tells that he is expecting a call from his hotel to this office at 10:45. When the phone rings, Martinelli answers the phone and says Rip has not been there. Rips says the hotel manager has a letter that will be turned over to the police if he is not back by 11:45 PM. Martinelli sends Krause back to the hotel with Rip, but there is no letter implicating the two in the murder of Johnny.
When Rip and Krause get out at the hotel, Lt. Kincaid and three officers approach them. Rip tells them that Krause has a gun. Krause hits Kincaid and jumps in the car and escapes. Rip takes off the other direction on foot.
Time returns to the church where Rip is telling the Chaplin. Rip realizes that the Jasmine he smelled was from Dusty. The Chaplin goes to get Rip a drink, and Rip takes off.
He heads to Dusty’s apartment. She is shocked when she sees him, but it could be because of the beating or because she expected him to be dead. She gives him a drink. He talks about smelling the Jasmine before he was knocked out. Dusty says Jasmine grows all over the south. She pledges her undying love.
Rip says that Johnny told him about her killing her own husband. She admits the gun was in her hand, and Johnny took the rap for her. She had told Martinelli the story after Johnny disappeared. Martinelli said he would get rid of the gun, but he used it for blackmail. She says she will call the police and confess. Rip says there is the telephone.
She makes the call, but Rip takes the phone out of her hand before she can confess. They kiss, and she is in love. She tells what a hard life she has had, and now she wants to go away with Rip. Rip passes out on the couch knowing he will be turned over to Martinelli if he is wrong about Dusty. Rip slept for 36-hours, and his face is healed. It’s a miracle. She says he can get back into the taxi business and they won’t have to touch her money. Rip says they have to stop in Washington, D.C.
Rick leaves to go find McGee. Later McGee shows up at Dusty’s apartment. McGee says Rip is coming up the back way, so the police won’t see him. He drops off a gun and some napalm grenades. Rip is going to see Martinelli and wants to get the gun with Dusty’s fingerprints. He wants her to open the back door to Martinelli’s office.
The buzzer rings, and it is Lt. Kincaid. Rip gets the jump on him and takes his gun. They tie Kincaid up and leave him in the closet. They tell the maid Hyacinth (Ruby Dandridge) to wait until 12:30 and let Kincaid out and give him his gun back.
It’s raining hard, and Dusty drives to the front of the club. Krause takes Dusty to the office and says Rip is at the bar. Dusty opens the backdoor, and Rip pulls a gun on Martinelli. Krause comes in, and he gets the drop on him too. Rip smacks Krause and knocks him out. Rip ask Martinelli to take the gun out of the safe. He says Dusty knows it’s not in the safe because she checked after she blackjacked Rip. Martinelli then says Dusty is his wife, and she was still married to him when she married Chandler. Martinelli says he and Dusty were in on the murder to get Chandler’s money.
Rip pulls the grenade. Martinelli says that when Dusty married Chandler, they only expected him to live six months. When they found out he was healthy they planned to murder him. When Johnny had a fight with Chandler in the club, Martinelli decided it was time to commit the murder. Rip throws a grenade, and part of the room starts burning. They say Johnny was killed by accident. Krause says the gun is inside the desk. Rip throws the other grenade, and Krause has to jump out the window.
Martinelli and Rip run down the back stairs. Martinelli runs out the door first, and Dusty shoots him down. Rip gets in the car with Dusty and says they are going to the police because she just tried to murder him. He tells her she is going to fry for this. Rip says that he loved Johnny more than her. She pulls a gun and demands that he give over the Chandler murder weapon. He speeds up to keep her from shooting him. Finally, she shoots him at point-blank in the ribs. The car crashes.
Dusty is being given the last rites when she wakes up. Rip has his arm in a sling and looks fine. Lt. Kincaid is taking down the story. The nurse lets him know that Dusty is not going to make it. Rip gets a call from the general and says he has cleared everything up. He goes to Dusty, and her make-up is perfect. Knowing she is going to die; she asks to hold his hand. He gives her kind words as she does one of the worst death scenes ever.
Summary – Dead Reckoning (1947)
World-Famous Short Summary – Don’t get caught sniffing the Jasmine
Beware the moors
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039305/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1005412_dead_reckoning
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1947/01/23/archives/at-loews-criterion.html
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Reckoning_(1947_film)
[5] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/network/id488613190?i=1000406606358
[6] http://www.native-languages.org/iaq22.htm
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