Armored Car Robbery
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Written by Earl Felton and Gerald Drayson Adams; suggested by a story by Robert Angus and Robert Leeds
1950/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Film Noir Classics Vol. 5
[box] Ryan: You should see her workin’ clothes. Imagine a dish like this married to a mug like Benny McBride… the naked and the dead.
Lt. Jim Cordell: Very funny.[/box]
This is a tight hard-bitten “B” noir perfect for filling out a double bill at just 67 minutes.
Dave Purvis (William Talman) is a mysterious criminal mastermind with a clean arrest record. He is one of the few to pull off a successful armored car robbery. Is is in town again for a repeat performance. Benny McBride, someone with a long record, helps him recruit more accomplices. Unbeknownst to Benny, Dave is having an affair with his stripper wife.
Dave has the robbery planned to its last detail. The men have 3 minutes to empty the armored car before the police arrive. Everything goes to hell when a passing cruiser happens to hear the call and arrives in seconds. In the melee that follows one of the policemen is killed and Benny is seriously wounded.
Lt. Jim Cordell (Charles McGraw), the partner of the slain officer, spends the rest of the movie in grim pursuit of the wily gang.
This definitely cuts to the chase, which moves along at a rapid pace! Not a moment is wasted. I love McGraw and Talman in these things. It’s hard to say whether the cop or the criminal is the more ruthless here.
Clip
