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promising action sets in motion a chain of circumstances which, no doubt, must have baffled the script writers, too, for they never do give it a logical explanation ... All of the aforementioned principals turn in competent performances, and the mystery is how they managed to get through the picture without becoming hopelessly confused. They certainly were one up on us there. Played at breakneck pace,
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advanced. He sneaks aboard the ship, finds the painting, and is able to cut it from its frame just before it could be consumed in a fire. Though locked in the cargo hold by the arsonist, he is able to escape when the ship's crew arrives, followed by
Traybin and Cochcrane. Spotted, Steele slips off the ship and is picked up by a conveniently passing Terry and whisked safely away.
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In 2002 critic Dennis
Schwartz wrote for Ozus Reviews, "The film takes a populist stand by promoting 'art for the masses' and takes a negative view of the art elitists (art critics and collectors) who favor such art styles as surrealism. That kind of art is considered subversive by George and is not
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panned the film, especially the screenplay and direction of the drama. He wrote, "Since Pat O'Brien's noggin suffers a blow which blacks out his memory as the story starts, there probably wouldn't be much sense taking the authors to task for the fantastic events which ensue ... This explosive and
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Steel persuades Barton's secretary, Mary (Mary Ware), to arrange for him to X-ray the painting, which he confirms is a copy. However, as the threesome are leaving, he is knocked out and Mary pulls a gun on Terry. Terry and the punchy Steele are taken to the estate of Dr. Lowell, who is behind the
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Determined to exonerate himself, Steele sets out to re-enact the train trip. He learns that a drunk had been taken off at the next station after his imagined crash by two men and believes it had been him, sapped and kidnapped. He informs
Stevenson of his discovery. Steele begins to suspect that a
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was right on track. The shadowy photography by Robert de Grasse was done in stylish chiaroscuro shadings, giving the film an uncanny feel. O'Brien was convincing as the pig-headed unconscious
American who has modern technology work for him and against him, as the inventions from the war are now
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He coerces Barton to meet him and confirms that the
Gainsborough had indeed been a forgery and was destroyed to conceal the theft of the original. Steele follows Barton to a party given by a museum board member, where he learns that the shipment of the Dürer back to London has been unexpectedly
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that had been loaned to the museum and lost in a fire at sea during its return trip to
England was actually a fake. Later, Stevenson calls Steele to tell him he has discovered that the fire was not an accident and to meet him as soon as possible in the museum vault. When Steele arrives he finds
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on Steele to confirm that Steele had not told the police of his discovery, the same drug he had used to make Steele believe he was in a train wreck. Traybin and
Cochrane burst in just in time to save the pair, shooting Lowell dead. Traybin, an undercover
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might have succeeded in covering up its confusion through sheer physical action, but Irving Reis elected to direct in waltz tempo. This gives one time to think about the curious motivation, and when you start thinking about a picture such as
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Stevenson dead. Seen standing over the body by a watchman, he flees. Although both
Traybin and Terry plead with him to turn himself in, Steele remains determined to do things his own way.
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thefts. He explains to Terry that as a frustrated art lover he could never have acquired such fabulous works legitimately. Before killing his captives, Lowell uses
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Anxious to avoid a scandal, Barton pleads with
Cochrane not to arrest Steele. Stevenson, the curator and Steele's friend, and Dr. Lowell (
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Hoping to save herself from being charged as an accessory to the crimes, Mary shows him where Lowell had hidden the stolen artworks.
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inspector, had all along been investigating the suspicious
Gainsborough loss, and seeking to ensure the safe return of the Dürer.
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equipment to demonstrate a forgery detection method on a masterpiece that had recently been exhibited by the museum,
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and caught the last train. About 40 minutes later, he watched helplessly as another train crashed head on into his.
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Hearing Steele's claims, Cochrane reveals that Steele's mother was fine and had never been taken to the hospital.
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After giving an enthusiastically received lecture on art, Steele had been reprimanded by Museum director Barton (
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as tame as is the classical style of Gainsborough. The art lesson didn't register, but as a thriller
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Running berserk, populist art critic and public lecturer George Steele (
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film review, September 7, 1946. Last accessed: July 24, 2013.
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Time Out - London. Time Out Film Guide, film review, 2008.
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film review, June 12, 2002. Last accessed: July 29, 2024.
279:) over his sensational style, and denied access to
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1150:Films scored by Leigh Harline
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1135:Films based on short fiction
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296:Grand Central Station
249:The Falcon Takes Over
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686:The Business of Love
1006:Letter to a Phoenix
814:Dancing in the Dark
517:The New York Times,
226:is a 1946 American
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586:TCM Movie Database
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798:Enchantment
790:All My Sons
674:Irving Reis
466:stuff like
392:as Reynolds
390:Dean Harens
374:Ray Collins
356:Pat O'Brien
306:Ray Collins
266:Pat O'Brien
244:Irving Reis
232:Pat O'Brien
111:Ray Collins
99:Pat O'Brien
85:Produced by
70:1943 story
58:Ray Spencer
53:John Paxton
43:Irving Reis
39:Directed by
1100:1946 films
1094:Categories
838:New Mexico
482:References
468:surrealism
370:as Traybin
199:93 minutes
183:1946-09-06
148:Production
56:Ben Bengal
1130:Film noir
1069:Geometria
404:as Barton
230:starring
228:film noir
127:Edited by
1056:" (1967)
1038:Crack-Up
774:Crack-Up
627:Crack-Up
614:Crack-Up
605:Crack-Up
592:Crack-Up
581:Crack-Up
575:AllMovie
570:Crack-Up
559:Crack-Up
496:Crack-Up
459:Time Out
456:In 2008
450:Crack-Up
442:Crack-Up
437:Crack-Up
285:Dürer's
223:Crack-Up
212:Language
137:Music by
95:Starring
63:Based on
22:Crack-Up
621:YouTube
595:at the
584:at the
464:élitist
215:English
204:Country
181: (
150:company
1080:(1990)
1072:(1987)
1064:(1970)
1049:(1958)
1041:(1946)
1013:Sentry
906:Novels
849:(1952)
841:(1951)
833:(1951)
825:(1951)
817:(1949)
809:(1949)
801:(1948)
793:(1948)
785:(1947)
777:(1946)
769:(1943)
761:(1942)
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737:(1941)
729:(1941)
721:(1941)
713:(1940)
705:(1940)
697:(1932)
689:(1925)
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238:, and
1054:Arena
999:Knock
992:Arena
281:X-ray
564:IMDb
501:IMDb
472:noir
345:Cast
260:Plot
630:at
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573:at
562:at
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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