…and Jean Lafitte thought he was a pirate!
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Film Noir New Orleans Uncensored (1955).
I want to shout out to Buelow for his comment on Forbidden Planet (1956). Also, to Trevino for his comment on Twelve O’Clock High (1949). I agree with you both.
This second-tier Film Noir has a rating of 5.9 on iMDB.com. On rottentomatoes.com, the film does not have a Tomatometer score and only a 20 percent audience rating[1]. Crikey!
A New York Times film review from April 30, 1955, had a lot to say about this movie, but I have always been told, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. The review stated “a standard, banal story of pilfering and dockside skulduggery.” Skulduggery is a great word, and we should try to work it into our conversation every day. It continues that it is “the adventures in the delta city of a terribly dense young dock-worker.” I really have to agree with that statement. It later said, “All the effort applied to “New Orleans Uncensored” to make it look like a documentary has made it appear patently unreal. The use of nonprofessionals is fine, when they can act, but in this film the civic leaders who were recruited just can’t act.” It finishes off with “If one were to seek a word to cover each and every aspect of “New Orleans Uncensored,” undistinguished would do nicely.”[2]
I will touch on the comments made above during the review and in the conclusions.
Actors – New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
Returning
Beverly Garland played Marie Reilly, the good girl with darker hair. Garland was first mentioned in D.O.A. (1949). Mike Mazurki played torpedo, Big Mike. Mazurki was really good in this role, playing a really dumb leg breaker. Mazurki was first covered in The Shanghai Gesture (1941).
New
Arthur Franz played naïve new comer Dan Corbett. Franz was born in New Jersey in 1920. Both his parents were German immigrants. Franz became interested in acting in high school. Still, he had to make a slight detour before getting into the business. Franz served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Franz was placed in a POW camp in Romania after his plane was shot down. He later escaped and ended the war at the rank of major.
Franz’s first film was Jungle Patrol (1948). A laundry list of his other films include Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Red Light (1949), Tarnished (1950), Submarine Command (1951), Flight to Mars (1951), Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), The Sniper (1952) where he had a significant role, Flight Nurse (1953), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Caine Mutiny (1954) as one of the officers, New Orleans Uncensored (1955), Battle Taxi (1955), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956), The Unholy Wife (1957), Hellcats of the Navy (1957), The Young Lions (1958), Woman Obsessed (1959), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Alvarez Kelly (1966), Anzio (1968), The Million Dollar Duck (1971) look it up if you haven’t seen it, and King Monster (1976). Franz died in 2006.
Helene Stanton played the role of Alma Mae, the bad girl with bleach blonde hair. Stanton was born in Pennsylvania in 1925. As a youth, she took voice and ballet lessons. When Stanton turned 21, she began working with the Cosmopolitan Production Company in Philadelphia. She was in many theatrical productions.
Stanton married Kenneth Harlan in 1949. Harlan was an ex-silent film actor. This was his eighth marriage. Wow, I wonder what the common denominator is? This marriage ended in 1953. Stanton worked in Las Vegas opening for Frank Sinatra. She also developed her own nightclub act.
In 1953, she married Morton D. Pinsky. Usually, I wouldn’t even mention this marriage. Still, due to this marriage, she gave birth to Dr. Drew Pinsky. Stanton also was in the first of her seven films, One Girl’s Confession (1953). The others are Jungle Moon Men (1955), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), Sudden Danger (1955), The Big Combo (1955), The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), and Four Girls in Town (1957). Stanton died in 2017.
Michael Ansara played criminal boss Floyd ‘Zero’ Saxon. Holy Blue Djinn, Batman. Ansara was born in Syria in 1922. He was two years old when his family moved to the US. Ten years later, they moved to California. Ansara studied at Los Angeles City College, but eventually ended up at the Pasadena Playhouse. This opened the door to theater and film work. He became pretty popular playing Cochise on televisions “Broken Arrow” 1956-1960. During the run of “Broken Arrow,” he met and later married Barbara Eden. He would go on to play the Blue Djinn on “I Dream of Jeannie” in 1966.
Ansara had almost 200 film and television roles. He played a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds with many Arabs and a lot of Native Americans. His movie roles were not great and included Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1951), Harum Scarum (1965) with Elvis, The Pink Jungle (1968), Dear Dead Delilah (1972), The Message (1976), The Manitou (1978), and Assassination (1987).
His most significant impact was on television, where he appeared in many of the most popular shows. For me, if he is not the Blue Djinn, he Klingon commander Kang on ‘Star Trek’ in 1966, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” in 1993, and “Star Trek: Voyager” in 1995. Ansara died at the age of 91 in 2013.
Stacy Harris played ex-boxer Scrappy Durant. Harris was born in Canada in 1918 (some sources say Washington). Harris became a U.S. Army pilot in 1937, but a crash and leg injury ended his flying. Some sources say he was a Merchant Marine during World War II[3]. In contrast, others say he served as an ambulance driver and as a dispatch rider for the French Foreign Legion[4]. This second rings more towards the first World War.
Beginning in radio, Harris amassed 143 film and television credits between 1950 and 1972. The overwhelming majority of these were television roles. On his first film, Harris met Jack Webb, who became a lifelong friend. Harris was in Dragnet (1954), directed by Jack Webb. Harris made five appearances on “Dragnet” 1951-1954. Harris made an additional eight appearances on “Dragnet 1967” 1967-1970.
Some films that Harris is known for include Comanche (1956), The Hunters (1958), Mike Hammer (1958), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), and Bloody Mama (1970). Harris died of a heart attack in 1973 at the young age of 54.
Story – New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
The movie begins in documentary-style, explaining how New Orleans, one of the most corrupt cities in America, has been untouched by crime on their booming loading docks. In reality, founded in 1718, the town has been home to rapscallions and thieves since its creation. Later, they actually talk about the pirate Jean Laffitte, who looted and stole goods only to sell them in the swamps south of town. That area still bears the name Barataria, which is closely associated with bargains or regatear.
Anyway, the narrator goes on to tell how New Orleans has become the second largest port in America, behind New York. I think it ranks around seven now. They then bring on Louisana Senator Allen J. Ellender Sr. Ellender, like most of those guys, was a racist and was alleged to suppress black votes.
The scene switches to the docks, where workers are waiting to go through the shakeup. Men are hired daily. This allows for the non-selection of black, any non-compliant union people, and anyone not willing to go along with any skulduggery.
As one crew is hired, another crew under Joe Reilly (William Henry), the second dumbest son of a bitch in this movie, arrives. Reilly says that his crew had this job under their boss Floyd ‘Zero’ Saxon (Michael Ansara). The first dumbest son of a bitch in this movie, Dan Corbett (Arthur Franz), shows up on the dock looking for a scrapyard. The two crews start fighting, and really, I have seen tougher middle-school dances. Dan escapes from the donnybrook after throwing a few punches.
The movie then shows a meeting between some locals from the shipping industry along with Zero and some professionals. The conclusion is that Zero has the low bid, but he is paying fair wages, and they can take no action. The Union and the shipper’s standup for Zero.
Dan finds the scrapyard. After Dan was discharged from the U.S. Navy, he decided to purchase a war surplus landing ship medium or LSM. This is like one of those World War II landing crafts but much larger, with the ability to haul tanks and things of that nature. Mac, in the scrapyard, thinks Dan is nuts and tries to talk him out of making the down payment. Dan is determined, believing he can sail up the Mississippi River, cut large timber, and sell it in New Orleans at a massive profit. The LSM looks like it was hit by a bomb and would take tens of thousands to get in shape. Dan makes the down payment but has to get a job to make the monthly payment. Mac recommends Dan try to get a job at the docks. Mac gives Dan a ticket to the longshoremen’s picnic at Lake Pontchartrain Beach. Lake Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park that operated from 1928 to 1983. The lake is a sewer-infested hellhole. Beware of green screen doors and mosquitoes.
Dan goes to the party and hooks up with bleach-blonde Alma Mae (Helene Stanton). They dance and play arcade games. Alma says she was brought to the party by Jack Petty (Michael Granger), the longshoremen’s union’s business agent. Alma already knows about the boat Dan bought. Dan paws on Alma a little, and she takes it in stride. A drunk approaches and virtually falls on Alma while asking her to dance. She gets upset, and the drunk throws a punch at Dan. Dan floors the drunk with one punch. Apparently, this is a much-desired skill among the longshoremen. The drunk is the light-heavyweight champ of the union. Petty comes and tells Alma to get his weight.
They go to Café Du Monde and eat bignets. I want some! Alma says it is a way of saying goodnight. I guess that is why I have mostly eaten them while drunk. Alma tells Dan to see Petty in the morning to get a job. Alma tells Dan to drop by the stevedore’s office the next day.
The next day, Reilly turns hiring duties over to his assistant, Charlie (Ed Nelson). Dan asks Reilly for a job. Alma had called Petty, and Petty called Reilly, all about getting Dan a job. Dan asks why the men all have a cigarette behind one of their ears. Reilly explains that they have to kick back part of their pay to Zero. Dan takes a cigarette but doesn’t see corruption on the docks.
One night, Dan and Reilly go to Diamond Jim Moran’s (a local bootlegger and mafia associate), where they will meet their “dates.” Reilly’s wife Marie (Beverly Garland) arrives with her brother Scrappy Durant (Stacy Harris) as a joke. They wanted Dan to meet Scrappy because Scrappy had been a prizefighter, formally managed by Zero. Scrappy runs the union boxing team. Dan takes the joke well, and the two men become friends.
Before they can get inside, Big Mike (Mike Mazurki) arrives and tells Reilly that Zero wants to see him. He tells the group he will see them back at the apartment. They hit all the hot spots around town. Who knew that New Orleans once had a Moulin Rouge. There is even a cameo with Diamond Jim Moran. At some point, Scrappy gives up and goes home. Dan and Marie take a carriage ride back to Marie and Reilly’s place. He goes up, but there is no sign of Reilly. Joe mentions how he would like to have a place like her, and she warns him to stay a nice fellow. Marie is jaded by her life.
Back on the docks, Dan is trying to learn the job by doing extra tasks. When he checks some cargo, he finds two men loading boxes into a truck that shouldn’t be loaded. One of the guys throws a punch at Dan and is knocked out for his trouble. The littler guy attacks and gets a beating for his trouble. Reilly tells that Dan won’t make that mistake again. Dan still doesn’t see any corruption on the dock.
Alma comes out to have lunch with Dan as he works on his boat. Alma is jaded by her life as well. She does admit there is another guy.
Dan goes to work out at the St. Mary’s C.Y.O. boxing gym. The C.Y.O. probably stands for Catholic Youth Organization, but everyone in the gym looked to be over 35. Scrappy introduces a couple of pro fighters to Dan. First was Pete Herman, the bantamweight champion from 1917-1920, who had a record of 69 wins, 11 losses, 8 draws, and 61 no-decisions. The second was Ralph Dupas. Dupas was the light middleweight champion for a while in 1963, who had a record of 106 wins, 23 losses, and 6 draws. Dupas was also trained by Angelo Dundee, who later trained Muhammed Ali.
Scrappy still wants Dan to fight. Dan asks about Reilly’s income, and Scrappy gets a little scrappy. Scrappy says the marriage is in trouble.
Reilly goes to see his criminal boss, Zero. Also around are Alma, Big Mike, and Deuce (Frank Ray Perilli), who does any thinking Big Mike needs. Reilly tells Zero that he wants out of the gang to start his own stevedoring outfit. Zero tells him, sure, no problem. Zero gets a revolver and gives it to Deuce. He says not to throw the gun away after the hit is done.
Big Mike and Deuce track Reilly through the crowded streets of New Orleans. They grab him, but he makes a break at the Court of Two Sisters. Reilly can’t get away from the thugs and is shot down against a locked gate.
Marie and Dan are waiting at the apartment for Reilly to show, not knowing he will never arrive. Marie says all the work and money don’t matter. She just wants Reilly. Dan is pro hard work. Marie knows that Reilly is meeting with Zero about a big deal.
Charlie gets interrogated by the police after Reilly’s body is found floating in the Mississippi River with four holes in it. The police, city, and union men still maintain that there is no corruption in New Orleans.
Dan tries to comfort Marie, but she is at her wit’s ends. Marie says she knows that Zero killed Reilly. Marie says she lost her husband when he started working for Zero.
Zero shows up on the dock with an insurance inspector. They shine the investigator on. A truck driver refuses to take a cargo load unless he can inspect it, as laid out in the union rules. Duece and Big Mike are about to attack the driver when the insurance inspector sees the action. The inspector impounds the cargo, and no one can touch the boxes. Duece has to stop Big Mike from roughhousing the inspector.
Zero tells a man that he will have to get rid of the impounded cargo.
Dan meets with Scrappy at the gym. Scrappy wants Dan to fight to make more money. Dan has to leave for the night shift. Duece and Big Mike are on the dock watching when the hiring boss roles a flammable barrel against the impounded cargo. Charlie sees the fire, and the arsonist knocks him out. Dan sees the fire and uses a tug to push it into the water.
Finally, the union’s head explains to Jack Petty that something might be happening at the docks. Petty tries to explain away the fire as an accident. Petty asks for a chance to clean up the mess.
Petty goes to see Zero. Zero’s plan is to have a testimonial diner for Petty. “They have one thing you haven’t got, a testimonial” – The Wizard of Oz. They decide they are going to make a hero out of Dan.
Dan gets a message to stop by Alma’s apartment. She gives him drinks and kisses him. Alma is responsible for making sure that Dan gets to the testimonial dinner. She gets right to work kissing Dan.
At the testimonial dinner, they have the fire department chief give Dan a certificate of merit. Zero publically offers Dan the job of assistant hiring boss. They then thank Jack for giving Dan a break. The union president reluctantly gives the solid gold cigarette lighter to Petty. Zero gives out gift bags to the ladies. Charlie mentions that the gifts bags came from money extorted from the workers.
Dan tries to celebrate with Marie, but she leaves mad. Scrappy tells Dan that it hurt Marie that Dan didn’t take her advice to avoid Zero and the corruption. Scrappy says that Zero is into all kinds of rackets. Alma selects the cargo while working in the stevedore’s office. Duece and Big Mike watch Scrappy talk to Dan. Scrappy tries to explain the theft using the shell game example. Dan doesn’t suspect anything is going on at the dock and leaves mad.
Zero and Dan have a talk, and Zero explains that it is a back-scratching game. Dan still doesn’t see anything wrong. Alma stays with Zero. Dan still talks about his dream of going up the river. Zero says somebody got to Dan after he was offered the job. Duece and Big Mike finger Scrappy. Zero says he will have to get Scrappy one more fight.
Dan is sparring and catching a beating. Duece and Big Mike meet with Scrappy at the gym. They tell Scrappy that Dan ratted him out to Zero. Scrappy gets furious and rushes to confront Dan in the ring. I have seen this technique masterfully employed where I used to work. You have to evaluate information for content and intent before acting on it.
Scrappy calls Dan a double-crosser and starts slugging him. Dan takes it for a bit. The fight is shown in shadows as Dan is knocked down. When Dan realizes the attack will not stop, he delivers a single punch to Scrappy’s torso. Scrappy falls dead. Dan hears that Duece and Big Mike were there talking to Scrappy. Dan is broken down by the death of his friend.
Dan meets with Marie, and he tries to comfort him over her brother’s death. Finally, she tells Dan that Scrappy had a bum ticker and couldn’t fight. When Marie tells Dan that Zero knew about the heart problem as Scrappy’s former manager, Dan finally realizes that there is some corruption on the docks.
Dan meets with the head of the union and the police commissioner. He explains how the thief works using the cup and pea trick. Now, Dan never says anything on the docks, and he never let Scrappy explain it to him, so how could he know now?
The scheme is a little more elaborate than just stealing. Fake invoices, shipping documents, and cargo box markings are used to send empty boxes to foreign ports. Fake boxes are placed on the docks, and the authentic merchandise is hidden in a warehouse. The losses can then be blamed on the foreign shippers. Dan recommends using radio transmitters within the stolen cargo to track where the trucks move the merchandise.
Dan places a fairly large radio transmitter into a crate. He almost gets caught. When the truck with the cargo leaves, police cars with directional antennas track the truck. The cargo is taken to a warehouse, where it is switched to a different truck. The police are able to follow the second truck.
They keep placing trackers in cargo until they find all of Zero’s distribution points. One of Zero’s workers finds a transmitter and gives it to Big Mike, who in turn gives it to Zero. Zero orders Big Mike to have the legitimate cargo returned to the docks. Zero heads out to fix the associated record. Zero warns Big Mike not to use the phone, but he is not too bright. He uses the phone and gives the information. The police are monitoring the calls.
The union boss orders the dockmen to strike and not allow anyone onto the docks.
Zero and his cronies finally realize that Dan is the one who has turned them into the police.
The police chief orders the three warehouses raided. The police chief and some more men will head to the dock.
Zero confronts and beats Dan about tipping the police off.
At the docks, the men have formed a picket line. They turn the truck that is trying to replace the cargo away. Zero sends one of his cronies to round up a mob of paid strike busters. Dan is out cold. Zero takes the gun used to kill Reilly and puts Dan’s fingerprints on the gun. Zero leaves Big Mike and Alma alone with Dan.
A couple of truckloads of strike busters arrive at the docks. A fight breaks out, but this time they have clubs and knives. Nobody gets hurt too bad as there is a lot of slapping and pushing. Zero arrives at the dock shipping office to get the records.
Dan wakes, and Alma gives him a drink. He tells her that if she helps him, he will talk to the police on her behalf. She throws a quarter glass of brandy in Big Mike’s face. Dan jumps up and beats the big man down.
Dan makes it to the docks and sees Zero stealing the records. Dan has Big Mike’s gun. Zero runs away between two conveyor belts. This is one of the movie’s weakest parts. Zero shots Dan in the arm. Dan fires, and Zero goes down. However, he was not ground up by the conveyor belts. They missed an excellent opportunity to kill a bad guy in style. The police arrive.
Later, Marie is hanging out with Dan at his boat. Over the radio, an announcement is made saying Zero is responsible for the murder of Reilly. Mac watches Dan and Marie, who are now a couple walk away to work on the boat.
The narration says New Orleans port has been saved from corruption.
Conclusion – New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
I am not going to go against any of the statements raised in the New York Times review above. It is always problematic for modern audiences when devoted racists are portrayed as good guys in older movies, such as Senator Allen J. Ellender Sr.
The overall story is pretty weak as Dan misses most of the crime taking place all around him. He, like Reilly, is a dumb son of a bitch in this film. A pretty convincing case could be made that this film is a crime drama instead of a Film Noir. Overall it was not as dark as it could have been. Mike Mazurki was pretty good as Big Mike. They made him really dumb and gave him a partner, Duece, to do the heavy thinking. It was handled quite humorously.
The best part of watching this movie was seeing scenes of historic New Orleans. Very little of what was shown in this film remains. Thank Jean Laffite that the Café Du Monde still stands.
World-Famous Short Summary – After her husband and brother are murdered, a woman lives happily ever after.
Beware the moors.
[1] New Orleans Uncensored – Rotten Tomatoes
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/30/archives/crime-on-the-docks.html
[3] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365345/bio
[4] Stacy Harris – Wikipedia
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.