The film opens with a clever looking take off on the popular Dick Tracy comic strip, and by the time you're a few minutes into the story you're left wondering whether this is supposed to be a gangster flick or some parody thereof. Comic style captions appear throughout and there are a couple of up-tempo scenes that don't fit in with the general tone of the picture, which basically has two rival gangs facing off against each other in the early Thirties. Jack Palance and Warren Berlinger are the opposing mobsters, taking turns at brutalizing their opposition, but they had almost a cordial relationship with each other in person, which skewed the dynamic of the picture for me. In other words, this wasn't "The Godfather".
Say, remember that scene when Vic Morono's (Palance) 'deuces' blow up and set fire to Chico's (Berlinger) Hi-Hat Club? The place was totally renovated and back in business the very next day! Even the Coca-Cola sign was shiny and brand new. You know, when you stop and think about it, Coke's presence in just about any film you could watch means we're paying for a lot of brand placement with every Coke we buy.
The surprise of the picture for me was seeing H.B. Haggerty in his role as the Deuce of Spades, Mickey. I remember him from his pro wrestling days back in the Sixties; the H.B. stands for 'Hard Boiled'. Haggerty utilizes his wrestling skills near the end of the picture when he winds up shooting himself in that tussle with reporter Timmons (Adam Roarke). He falls face down to the floor, and just before he hits he uses his 'dead' arms to brace his fall.
I recently caught Palance in his very first starring role, also portraying a gangster in 1950's "Panic in the Streets". He looked like a gangly young actor with very limited range, and even though 'Four Deuces' is no prize, you can see how he improved over time. It's too bad the same thing can't be said for some of his pictures; I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.
Say, remember that scene when Vic Morono's (Palance) 'deuces' blow up and set fire to Chico's (Berlinger) Hi-Hat Club? The place was totally renovated and back in business the very next day! Even the Coca-Cola sign was shiny and brand new. You know, when you stop and think about it, Coke's presence in just about any film you could watch means we're paying for a lot of brand placement with every Coke we buy.
The surprise of the picture for me was seeing H.B. Haggerty in his role as the Deuce of Spades, Mickey. I remember him from his pro wrestling days back in the Sixties; the H.B. stands for 'Hard Boiled'. Haggerty utilizes his wrestling skills near the end of the picture when he winds up shooting himself in that tussle with reporter Timmons (Adam Roarke). He falls face down to the floor, and just before he hits he uses his 'dead' arms to brace his fall.
I recently caught Palance in his very first starring role, also portraying a gangster in 1950's "Panic in the Streets". He looked like a gangly young actor with very limited range, and even though 'Four Deuces' is no prize, you can see how he improved over time. It's too bad the same thing can't be said for some of his pictures; I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.