Sprung from Death Row moments before his bottom was due to come into contact with the hot seat, Edward G. Robinson and fellow prisoner, Peter Graves, accompanied by a hoard of hapless hostages, hard-boiled henchmen and Robinson's hussy are soon holed up in a hellhole hideaway.
Painfully aware that he can only fry once and adopting a nobody misses a slice off a cut loaf mentality, Robinson proceeds to call and fire all the shots, killing with impunity and creating a lottery of who will live to tell the tale of their terrifying ordeal. As the cops move in, neither side is prepared to budge an inch.
If the producers sought to create the most repulsive, odious, callous, cold hearted villain in screen history, they did a pretty good job, but what they perceived as a strength, ultimately proves to be the movie's weakness.
By definition, the genre is fundamentally dark, featuring characters of dubious repute, but the best noirs are notable for sharp, punchy dialogue, memorable one liners, often delivered deadpan, individuals to warm to or identify with and underlying themes of redemption and reclamation. Black Tuesday possesses none of these ingredients, as it trawls its grim course towards the inevitably violent showdown; just a ruthless, trigger crazy (he never looks happy!) hood. In Robinson's murky, miserable world, if it's not Black Tuesday, then it must be Black Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday!
Painfully aware that he can only fry once and adopting a nobody misses a slice off a cut loaf mentality, Robinson proceeds to call and fire all the shots, killing with impunity and creating a lottery of who will live to tell the tale of their terrifying ordeal. As the cops move in, neither side is prepared to budge an inch.
If the producers sought to create the most repulsive, odious, callous, cold hearted villain in screen history, they did a pretty good job, but what they perceived as a strength, ultimately proves to be the movie's weakness.
By definition, the genre is fundamentally dark, featuring characters of dubious repute, but the best noirs are notable for sharp, punchy dialogue, memorable one liners, often delivered deadpan, individuals to warm to or identify with and underlying themes of redemption and reclamation. Black Tuesday possesses none of these ingredients, as it trawls its grim course towards the inevitably violent showdown; just a ruthless, trigger crazy (he never looks happy!) hood. In Robinson's murky, miserable world, if it's not Black Tuesday, then it must be Black Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday!