Kansas City Confidential
Directed by Phil Karlson
1952/USA
Associated Players and Producers
First viewing
[box] Tim Foster: What makes a two-bit heel like you think a heater would give him an edge over me?[/box]
Tough-as-nails heist noir about a “perfect” armored-car robbery. A man meticulously plans the robbery and ensures that his team is always masked and do not know each other’s identity. The heist involves a mock florist’s van and the innocent driver of the real van, a small-time ex-con, is hauled in and given the third degree. The driver (John Payne) makes it his mission to round up the true criminals. His quest takes him to a resort in Mexico. With Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef, and Neville Brand as robbers, Preston Foster as an ex-Police Chief, and Coleen Gray as the chief’s law-student daughter.
Although this is far from the “perfect” noir, I enjoyed it very much. If some of the dialogue and acting is a bit over-earnest, the story is clever. Karlson has a distinctive style reminiscent of Sam Fuller’s but a little bit more orthodox. Very nice to meet up with a woman studying for the Bar Examination in a 1952 movie!
Clip – job interview sequence
