Kansas City Confidential (1952) - feat. Lee Van Cleef, Neville Brand & Jack Elam скачать в хорошем качестве

Kansas City Confidential (1952) - feat. Lee Van Cleef, Neville Brand & Jack Elam

Ruthless criminal mastermind Mr. Big (Preston Foster) plans the robbery of an armored car by coordinating it with a flower delivery route. He recruits three fugitives: gambler and murder suspect Pete Harris (Jack Elam), cop killer Boyd Kane (Neville Brand), and womanizing getaway driver Tony Romano (Lee Van Cleef). Mr. Big interviews them while wearing a mask so none can identify him. Each man has a reason to flee the United States once the job is done. The plan involves a duplicate flower truck, allowing the gang to intercept the armored car, overpower the guards, steal the cash, and escape without revealing their identities. Mr. Big gives each man a torn piece of a King playing card, explaining it will identify them later if he cannot appear. They are instructed to wait in Mexico for payment. Police arrest flower truck driver Frank Rolfe (John Payne) and attempt to beat a confession out of him, convinced he is part of the robbery, but he maintains his innocence. His alibi checks out and the real robbery vehicle is found. He is released, but his reputation is destroyed and he loses his job. Determined to clear his name, Rolfe begins investigating on his own and learns Harris has fled the country. He follows him to Tijuana, beats him into revealing the gang’s meeting place, and watches helplessly as police recognize and kill Harris at the airport. Rolfe then assumes Harris’s identity, taking his luggage, mask, and torn card. In Barados, Rolfe meets Kane and Romano, both suspicious and dangerous, unaware that Mr. Big is also present. Mr. Big is actually Tim Foster, a disgraced former Kansas City police official hoping to entrap the gang, recover the stolen money, collect the insurance reward, and restore his career. His scheme is disrupted when his daughter Helen (Coleen Gray), a law student, arrives and reveals the mayor may reconsider the scandal that ruined him. She also admits she has met Rolfe and is drawn to him. Rolfe uses a poker game to display the torn card, alarming Kane and Romano, while Foster realizes Rolfe is an impostor. Shifting alliances, brutal beatings, and double-crosses follow. Kane and Romano attempt to eliminate Rolfe, but are forced into a final meeting aboard Foster’s boat. Romano kills Kane, Foster kills Romano, and Rolfe exposes Foster as Mr. Big. Mortally wounded, Foster asks Rolfe to protect Helen from the truth and credits him with recovering the money, ensuring Rolfe receives the reward and his name is finally cleared. A 1952 American film noir and crime film (aka "The Secret Four") directed by Phil Karlson, produced by Edward Small, screenplay by George Bruce and Harry Essex, story by Rowland Brown and Harold Greene, cinematography by George E. Diskant, starring John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster, Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam, Dona Drake, Mario Siletti, Howard Negley, Carleton Young, Don Orlando, and Ted Ryan. Screen debut appearances of Helen Kleeb and Vivi Janiss. Released by United Artists. The wristwatch worn by "Mr. Big" at the beginning of the movie is a Swiss-manufactured Mido Multi-CenterChrono. The story begins in Kansas City, Missouri, but most of the film is set at a fictitious fishing resort, Borados, in Mexico. The bulk of the film was shot in a Hollywood studio, with the boating shots filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island. The aerial view of Kansas City's Union Station is stock footage, as none of the film was shot in Kansas City. John Payne was a popular singer of the 1940s who was working his way down from Technicolor musicals at 20th Century Fox, but after his Fox contract expired produced several of his own films. John Payne broke some of Jack Elam's ribs in a fight scene. Phil Karlson and John Payne teamed a year later for "99 River Street" (1953), another film noir, followed by "Hell's Island" (1955) a film noir in color. The movie originally was called "Kansas City 117," the title based on a police code. Small bought the title, "Kansas City Confidential" from John Gait and Lee Montgomery. It was the first contemporary crime drama Small made after a series of swashbucklers. This is the only film made by Edward Small's short-lived Associated Players and Producers, a company formed by Small, Sol Lesser, and Sam Briskin. It is the first of a 13-movie deal Small signed with United Artists in 1952, with ten to be made in the first year. John Payne said he owned a 25% stake. The film's popularity prompted a series from Edward Small: "New York Confidential" (1955), "Chicago Confidential" (1957), and "Hong Kong Confidential" (1958). Quentin Tarantino has said that "Reservoir Dogs "(1992) was inspired by this movie. The parallels are obvious. This imaginative little noir from 1952, exemplifies the bread-and-butter UA film of the 1950s. It is prime Karlson. Brutal, hard-edged, and unflinching, but also livened by a distinct streak of optimism. Tight, suspenseful and worth viewing. A classic. Recommended for noir connoisseurs.