With World War II now out of the way and in the past, America and the Soviet Union threw their alliance of political convenience out the window and became adversaries. This noir has a much more Cold War feel to it than most others in the genre, probably because it was made so soon after the war. While not well known, it is worth taking a look at since it shows how spies can lurk in our cities or even top secret facilities owned by the government and sneak around unmolested. In the case of this movie, the spies in question are trying to steal secrets so valuable they will put Russia ahead in the arms race. Although the title doesn't make much sense (it's explained pretty lazily in an opening text), it becomes clear real fast why it contains the word crooked. The first thing that happens is FBI agent Daniel O'Hara (Dennis O'Keefe) is on the phone with somebody who is talking in a phonebooth. Someone blasts the guy talking to O'Hara point blank with a pistol and runs off. O'Hara needs to find out who is behind this killing, and starts monitoring the house of a suspect. O'Hara and a Scotland Yard agent, Scotty Grayson (Louis Hayward), meet up and the latter tells O'Hara he intercepted a strange painting possibly related to the murder and suspected ring of spies. It is discovered that the painting (when ultraviolet light is shone on it) reveals a long math equation that is crucial for nuclear weapons research and atomic fission. O'Hara is shown the painting and finds the exact building in San Francisco it is based off of, determining it was painted from the rear of a nearby building across the street. O'Hara and Grayson set up a camera in the third floor of the adjacent house and see the painter, Igor Braun, about to make another one. It is loaded into a truck (which O'Hara then follows), and sent overseas to the UK. Meanwhile, Braun gets on a plane. O'Hara decides not to intercept the painting, knowing this might tip off Braun. Radchek (the guy who was shot earlier) just so happened to talk to Braun shortly before he was killed. After finding out about the equation, O'Hara fears that russian spies are sneaking atomic weapons research out of america so that the soviets can use it. O'Hara listens in on a meeting of nuclear scientists consisting of Dr. Von Stolb, a German immigrant, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Neva (who speaks russian). To gather more evidence, O'Hara plants a fed informant in a laundromat a suspected communist named Krebs (Raymond Burr) is known to frequent. Every Friday night he shows up there and picks up a strange package. The undercover guy sees Krebs grab the package, then tells O'Hara, who proceeds to shadow Krebs and eventually punches him out. Taking the package (revealed to be a painting) back to Grayson, it has a similar math equation hidden on it. Krebs and his comrades later show up at a house the informant is in, get him to lure O'Hara to the place, and they are both beat senseless. O'Hara is almost shot by one of Krebs' guys, but gets away. Later, more confusion occurs when Neva (who is in love with von Stolb) is nearly found guilty of treason when her hankerchiefs have been playing a key role in passing secrets out of the nuclear plant. She denies any involvement and tells O'Hara and Grayson to look for von Stolb. Upon going to his quarters, he is found dead from poison. O'Hara deduces the poison must have killed von Stolb so fast he wouldn't have had time to stand up and lay down on his bed, therefore someone gave it to him and murdered him. Rewatching their video they took of the meeting, O'Hara and his partner find out Dr. Allen pressed his hand on a piece of paper containing the equation. Allen is followed to a remote house where he is meeting up with Krebs and his henchmen. A brutal gunfight ensues, and Braun is shot dead by Krebs when he tries to convince his boss to give up. Within a couple of minutes, everyone in the house (except Allen) is gunned down. The latter is taken back to the plant and interrogated. Eventually, O'Hara finds the equation hidden on his palm, proving his involvement and guilt in this whole thing. With the spy ring broken up and Allen in custody, the FBI's work is done here. This is one of those films that probably has a more interesting backstory than storyline. J Edgar Hoover really didn't like any negative portrayals of his organization when it came to movies, and this film came right around the time HUAC was investigating suspected communists in Hollywood for real. Hoover's condemnation of anything that didn't show the FBI to be a beacon of hope is odd considering a movie from 3 years earlier (House on 92nd Street) made them look really good. In the end, Hoover bickered with producers on this movie and wanted all traces of his organization removed, but the producers didn't budge, arguing that as a public agency, the FBI was fair game when it came to fictionalization. Even though I thought this movie was run of the mill, it did at least have a unique concept since two agents from different countries are united in the cause of hunting down communists. You also have to love Burr, one of noir's best, looking kind of like Lenin. No doubt this was intentional.
Review of Walk a Crooked Mile
