Douglas Sirk and Sam Fuller. Not a likely pairing in any producer's shortlist, the legendary director and iconic screenwriter came together one time to show maybe why conventional wisdom has a point now and then.It's the story of Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde) and Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight), a parole officer and parolee who crime brings together, first as a matter of bureaucracy and later as outlaw lovers. It doesn't sound like a bad idea, but neither Sirk nor Fuller are at their best here.We open on a shot of Jenny going into a dress store to purchase a new outfit. If you were expecting a car chase or a scene of Jenny's arrest, forget it. This is a Douglas Sirk film; just be glad we don't spend the next 15 minutes watching Jenny make her face.After that, Fuller takes over with his on-the-nose dialogue. Jenny's not bad, Griff keeps insisting in his salt-of-the-earth Fuller way, she just needs a new direction. "I'm counting on her meeting some normal, decent people," which is too bad because they live in L. A.The basic idea of the film is that love conquers all, or at least keeps one from looking both ways before crossing into traffic. This is the only rationale for Griff transforming from tough parole officer, not even looking up to greet Jenny when she first steps into his office, to cheerful chipmunk who can't wait to take the convicted killer with a chip on her shoulder to meet his blind mother and tagalong kid brother.The performances are actually pretty good, given the dicey material. Wilde has a smooth delivery that almost sells his character despite a glaring absence of professionalism, while Knight's brittle beauty draws us in and makes us wonder about her motives. Sirk works the scenes around her, and Knight delivers when the "I'm-no-good" dialogue isn't choking her.The best work is John Baragrey as Harry Wesson, the guy Jenny took the rap for five years ago and who still wants her, in his jaded but determined way. Baragrey delivers prime Fuller wisecracks in such a cool, off-handed manner, I kept begging for him to show up while Jenny read love poems to Marat's mom. Baragrey's smugitude is off the charts, and delightful."Excuse me while I push Humpty Dumpty off his wall."No, you'll break his heart."That's the idea. You catch on quick, Jenny."It's a shame Baragrey didn't get more film work. He'd be my Doe Avedon candidate for best performance in a bad film, 1949, if only for the fact "Shockproof," dull and silly as it often is, never sinks quite so low as to be called "bad." It has an energy, moving at a quick pace. The scenes of Griff and Jenny slinking through the shadows, wondering if their story made the local papers, are marvelously acted and well-shot. The problem is they come too late and don't get much time for development before everything's wrapped up in a bizarre ending.It's the one part of the movie even supporters agree doesn't work. Here's the thing: I liked it. No, it doesn't make sense, but it breaks the formula the rest of the film so doggedly follows. Most important, it gives my man Baragrey a chance to deliver the final line, and it's a beaut.OK, if you enjoy Sirk and Fuller, you will see things here to engage and interest you. It's not a well-made film, but it's an interesting effort, and there are scenes, lines, and moments that show you why both men would make screen history – so long as they listened to the parole board and kept a healthy distance from one another.

Shockproof is directed by Douglas Sirk and written by Samuel Fuller and Helen Deutsch. It stars Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey and Esther Minciotti. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr. When convicted murderess Jenny Marsh (Knight) is released into his care, parole officer Griff Marat (Wilde) literally finds his life being turned upside down... As many film noir lovers will attest too, there are a number of noir movies out there that frustrate with their endings to the point it induces anger. One such film is Shockproof, a meeting of two great film making minds undone by a studio decision so soapy and irrelevant that studio heads should have rolled post haste. I'm the one who gets spanked. Shockproof actually is a great film noir, it takes a simple honest to goodness man, introduces a classic femme fatale into his life, and before you can say "stop you fool", he's in it up to his neck. Stylistically it's top notch noir as well. Sirk and Lawton consistently have bar shadows featuring prominently, Jenny Marsh never escapes them, she may be out of prison but the parole office and latterly Harry Wesson's (Baragrey very good as her no good weasel boyfriend) hotel room consistently imprison her - and actually, Griff as it comes to pass. The Marat home is a delightful amalgamated design of art deco and the ornate. While in Wilde's hands Griff moods and smokes a lot, just as Jenny smolders and dives into his soft melancholic eyes (Wilde really does have sad eyes!). Excuse me while I push Humpty Dumpty off his wall! It's all there, for a good hour it's prime film noir, both as a story (the protags join a fine list of noir couples on the lam) and for tech skills as well, but then it all goes pear shaped. Even before you realise that Griff has suddenly abandoned his disabled mother and younger brother without so much as a goodbye, a turn of events leads to a Hollywood type ending (Deutsch brought in for the rewrite) that defies logic, belief, and something that ultimately comes off as insulting. Aaaarggghhh! Sirk and Fuller were disgusted, both wanted Fuller's original ending, and when you look into it, it would have been film noir nirvana and most fitting. A shame unbound for sure, for this is great for the most part as Wilde and Knight have genuine sparks (a real off screen romance) and Sirk, Fuller and Lawton are in sync thematically. In its fullest form it's a sad 5/10 movie, if turning off 5 minutes before the end and pretending that the couple's fate is unknown - or using our own imaginations and supplanting Fuller's originally scripted finale, then it's a mightily strong piece of film noir.

Shockproof (1949)Sam Fuller, the writer of this film, is admired for breaking rules and being a little bit edgy. Douglas Sirk, the director, is known for sumptuous, no compromise melodramas with gorgeous dreamy sets and an arch and affecting artificiality. They make an odd mix, and something doesn't quite click here. The plot is standard fare but good--a parole officer falls for a reluctant parole, who still has a thing for a thug up to no good. The officer is terrific, Cornell Wilde at his regular guy best, a kind of echo of Dana Andrews with a little more warmth. But the main woman, Patricia Wright, is a bit wooden. You can feel her trying too hard too often, and it's just one of those things that cuts the rest of the effort down to size. Not surprisingly, she was only in five feature films, and was the lead in only one other.But setting aside her presence and its deadening effect, there are some things to really enjoy here. You might find the movie ordinary for awhile, with some nice clichés and a steady development. But then, halfway, there's a huge and really sudden twist. And a believable one, a great scene. Suddenly there is a whole new plot. We aren't quite involved enough with the two leads to get swept away in their love affair (as we certainly do in "Gun Crazy" two years later, or in "They Live by Night" the same year), but it's exciting anyway. There are some scenes at an oil rig and the worker's cabins (I assume it's a set) that are gorgeous.And then there's a sixty second surprise ending that doesn't do the movie justice and is very unlike Fuller. It's almost like someone took the script from Fuller and said, no Sam, that won't do. And rewrote it. And in fact that's what happened. One of the Columbia producers, Helen Deutsch, stepped in to remove Fuller's violent first intention. In fact, that final scene wasn't even directed by Sirk, who quit Columbia and left the country in anger (only to return and start a string of his famous 1950s masterpieces). A detailed account of all this is at www.tcm.com/this-month/article/208688%7C0/Shockproof.html.What else? The photography by Charles Lawton Jr. is great (he had just done Welles's vigorous "Lady from Shanghai"), and a lot of the side actors are really good, especially the gambler boyfriend played by John Baragrey. This is one of those films to enjoy in pieces, or to enjoy for how it fits into the chronologies of some of the people who made it. Wilde and Knight, by the way, were still married during the filming (Wilde insisted Knight get the part) but they split up in 1951.

"Schockproof" looks like a blueprint for Sirk's works to come ,particularly "Written on the wind" .Patricia Knight is the bad girl (because of a tormented childhood,poverty ,parents loss....) we find again in the 1956 effort:¨besides Knight resembles Dorothy Malone,who,unlike her,will play a rich spoilt kid ,playing around with the gas station men,and driving along a road of derricks (also present in "shockproof") "Shockproof" is too predictable to be considered a Sirk classic (like such works as "written on the wind" "all that heaven allows" "imitation of life" or "a time to love and a time to die" ,to name but four).The script borrows from two Fritz Lang works of the thirties ,one of which is a masterpiece ("You only live twice" ) ;in the other one, much less absorbing "You and me" ,Sylvia Sydney plays a woman in the same situation as Knight.Also handicapped by a happy end ,very artificial.The best scenes are to be found in the parole officer's house ,when Knight discovers that the other guest is also on parole;this family unit (an old blind mom,two kid brothers) desperately needs someone ,it's obvious.The rebuilding of a family will emerge again in "all that heaven allows" "there's always tomorrow" and particularly "Imitation of life" and "All I desire"