Highly effective noir thriller with top performances from Cornel Wilde and Richard Conte. The latter is, of course, the big baddie but Wilde is a surprisingly ruthless cop with an agenda. Conte is almost frighteningly violent in both words and action, at the same time presenting such a charming front but Wilde is almost up there and certainly much more street wise than some cops in noir films. Jean Wallace is also very effective as the love interest for both men, although the cop is not beneath skipping out for a bit on the side while he waits. Excellent b/w photography and a good tale well told with splendid hard boiled dialogue.

After the revolutionary "Gun Crazy", "The Big Combo" is the second and last real masterpiece directed by Joseph H. Lewis. A strong revenge love story, with violent and shocking scenes shadowed ingeniously by John Alton, definitely master of film noir photography. Richard Conte is outstanding as a sadistic gangster. And try to see the interview of Joseph H. Lewis explaining the very special scene between Richard Conte and Jean Wallace. Cheers Joseph H. Lewis.

Joseph H Lewis' seminal film noir probably didn't leap off the page when he first read Philip Yordan's screenplay: straight-arrow cop Lt. Len Diamond is ordered to close his investigation of suspected underworld kingpin Mr Brown due to lack of evidence procured but when Brown's suicidal moll Susan Lowell washes up in the city hospital after taking an overdose of pills, he finds a new angle.From there, he trudges from apartment to jewellery store to sanatorium in search of incriminatory secrets about Brown's past, determined to put him behind bars. He eventually succeeds in this personal mission of his, his trigger finger unflinchingly still even when shot at by a desperate Brown in a claustrophobic small aircraft hangar, to witness Brown's undignified cuffing at the hands of the law before walking out with Susan into the foggy night. The 'big combo' (Latin American for gavel) of the title truly strikes down upon the criminal underworld in the end, without using it's methods. This final image of the two figures sharply silhouetted against the misty background is considered to be one of the most iconic images in noir. Cinematographer John Alton demonstrates the chiaroscuro throughout, notably in the opening moments where Susan flees her homosexual captors Fante and Mingo in a boxing arena, before finally giving up beside a snack vendor where Diamond's partner Sam waits in the bright glow, a symbol of hope, and overall of the film's black-and-white morality; the gulf between the tireless crusader for the public good Diamond and the unscrupulous agent of destruction Brown. However, the score couldn't be less conventional. David Raskin swaps strings for brass, jarring the sensibilities of aficionados and distracting us from the decidedly unspectacular narrative. It also offers another clue to the meaning of the ambiguous title in that combo is an Anglo American term for a jazz band.Lewis also opts not to employ sound in several instances to great effect. The sequence wherein our man is subjected to torture by hearing aid borrowed from Brown's right-hand-man Joe McClure (which he acquired, it is suggested, from a prior power struggle with the big man). Cornel Wilde relays the unheard anguish piercingly before having a whole bottle of rubbing alcohol poured down his throat. Later, when an unfazed Mr B removes the hearing aid of his top henchman after a failed putsch of the combo (as in combination, the meaning the movie offers most explicitly), the sound is muted and the line of diegesis is abruptly crossed when the score ceases so we can only see the silent muzzle flashes of Fante & Mingo's guns before fading out with the dead man.Perhaps this was to cut costs or appease the censors of the time. On the one hand, the former theory is congruent with the small cast, low-key setpieces, short runtime and multiple uses of stock footage in the film. Whereas the latter theory would be consistent with numerous examples of insinuation or innuendo (too numerous to mention) which, when applied to the picture, would seem intended to arouse or captivate it's contemporaneous adult audiences. Both make sense, and they are elements sorely missed from mature cinema of the pre-Hays code era, when a grimace or raised eyebrow could mean anything.

Having mostly enjoyed Cornel Wilde films, I was anxious to catch up with this rarely screened title. While it kept my interest throughout, I was surprised that by the end, I did not want to keep my recording.Following a nice main title, the film gets off to an interesting start, but this actually promises more than it delivers. The great 40's noir films had tight pacing, sharp dialog and a multi layered look and feel ~ all this is lacking here. Obviously the producers recognized this, as they themselves dropped scenes from the final cut. Whit Bisel remains on the cast, but not in the film! Even with some segments reduced the film feels much longer than it's 80+ Min's running time. I quite like slow films, but they should never feel longer than they are, and must have strong lines and situations. Its a good time filler, but don't think it will stay with too many after it's over. Wildes wife Jean Wallace is lovely to look at in the Grace Kelly school of cool blonds. The Black and White print I caught on local ABC TV was very good quality (far better than many of the soft image, and poor quality sound prints pushed out on TCM!~ when will they get it right?) Many have mentioned enjoying the films use of light and shadow, but this too is obvious and forced, looking more like cheap TV lighting, not the true 'style' of great cinema. The cast tries hard but the lines are just not there for them (substitutes violence for good dialog) OK for the easily pleased, others, don't expect too much. A decade later Wilds 'Naked Prey' while a total departure, is a far better effort.