Last night, we found a Veddy Brrrittish crime thriller of the type we were watching a lot of last year, and boy, did they ever make some great ones in the early 60s. That was the height of the so-called Kitchen Sink era, which we talked about at that time (you'd have to look it up in my blogs from when we were on our John Mills kick), but at any rate - wow! what a find: "The Hi-Jackers"(1963), about a gang of robbers who are not unlike our stagecoach gangs from the Old West, except for one thing. Instead of riding out of the hills to rob their target, they plan out elaborate schemes to force lorry drivers to stop. In this case, they stage accidents and when the driver stops, the jack him and steal his truck, which they know in advance has freight with a lot of value. How do they know this? Someone with the scoop tips them off. As the movie opens, we see the gang, led by an older, sophisticated gent named "Carter" (Derek Francis), practicing in the road for their heist. They're out in the middle of nowhere, along the route the victim's lorry will take. It's said to be carrying a load of Johnny Walker worth 12 thousand pounds.
At a village cafe, we see the driver getting ready to make his run. He's sitting at a table with some union chaps, one of whom is complaining about all the hijackings that are taking place. "They oughta provide us with guards", the guy says. "Why should I risk my neck to a load of highwaymen? I'm not gettin' paid any extra." Our driver, whose name is "Terry" (Anthony Booth) is an independent trucker. He doesn't even have a company to back him up, but he shrugs off the threat. "I'm careful. I know not to stop for anyone, and I don't pick up chick hitchhikers cause them gangs use 'em as a ruse". Nevertheless, the waitress at the cafe, who Terry is friends with, asks him to give a ride to a young woman who's been sitting there all day long. She's clean cut but obviously down on her luck. The waitress feels sorry for her; will Terry give her a ride? He thinks of all the hijacking talk and turns the offer down, but later on, when he's driving, he sees the young woman walking on the road with her suitcase and feels bad for refusing her, so he pulls over and gives her a ride.
They make small talk, while in cross-cut scenes, we see the robbers setting up their phony auto accident roadblock, and communicating with walkie-talkies to ensure perfect timing (think Pelham 123). Terry is forced to stop his lorry when he comes to the "accident" (a motorcycle is staged to have collided with a car) and even though he suspects it's a trap, the gal (his passenger) implores him to get out and help. He does, and gets mugged. Then the robbers make off with his lorry. They drive it to a barn, offload the Johnny Walker, and their plan seems to have come off very well. But there's one snag - the robbers didn't expect Terry to have a passenger. And when they jacked him, she ran into Da Bushes (stay! out! da bushes!). They weren't able to catch her, and she got a good look at Carter, the older bald boss man, whom she describes to the police when they interview her and Terry.
He relates this detail to a fellow driver, that his passenger saw "a bald older gent", and the next thing you know, Terry gets a knock at the door of his apartment, where he's letting the girl stay, and some thugs burst in with stockings on their heads, and that's all I should really tell you. I'll give you a hint that, initially, the coppers accuse Terry of staging his own robbery. Because they don't believe him, he's forced to find the gang on his own. And there's also the threat posed by Carter apparently knowing where he lives. Man, this is one top notch crime film. The Brits were at the top of their cinematic game in those days. I think this flick may have influenced Scorsese, because the Taxi Driver soundtrack is similar (jazzbo saxophone) and especially the scene in the cafe, when Terry is talking to other drivers ("my man Travis is loa-ded, loa-ded"). I'll bet he saw "The Hi-Jackers", which gets Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's been restored and the picture is razor sharp, so don't miss it! ////
The previous night, our pal Chester Morris was back in a screwball crime comedy, but it wasn't a Boston Blackie. The movie was "Double Exposure"(1944), and this time, Chester is paired with a hugely talented actress named Nancy Allen instead of The Runt. Chester is the editor of a magazine called Flick, which presents sensationalised photos to accompany it's weekly stories of murders, plane crashes and mayhem, the juicier the better. When Flick's publisher - a fitness freak named "Mr. Turlock" (Richard Gaines) - sees a photo of a plane crash by "Pat Marvin" (Kelly), he tells Chester to call and hire her. She lives and works in Iowa with her erstwhile boyfriend "Ben" (Phillip Terry), who helps her concoct fake shots (and the airplane pic is a phony), but he's kind of a nerd, and she doesn't really love him. So, when she gets the call from Chester, and Ben tags along to New York, she introduces him as her brother. Chester thus sees no competition for her hand and puts the moves on her, while Ben fumes because he thinks Pat's in love with him. But all of this is in the background because Mr. Turlock wants to sell magazines. He passes out carrots to his staff to keep them in shape, and when he comes into the office, they'd better be doing their push-ups.
There's a possibility for a scoop with the latest marriage of millionaire "Sonny Tucker" (Charles Arnt). He's a serial womaniser who's on his seventh wife. But she's about to divorce him, just when Mr. Turlock the publisher decides to run a "mystery" issue of Flick, where readers have the chance to solve a fictitious crime. Pat and Chester decide to stage one by photographing a fake "murder" in Sonny Tucker's high-rise apartment, which they sneak into. They have Pat dress like Wife Number 7 and lay across the couch, to make it look like she's been found dead in the apartment. They take their pictures and leave, but then, lo and behiold, it happens for real! Wife Number 7 is found murdered, on the same couch, in the same clothes, laying in the same position. The cops show up and produce a police pic, which is identical to cover photo on Flick magazine, from an issue that has sold like hotcakes. "How did your photographer know about the murder before we did?" the coppers wanna know. Chester confesses: "We didn't know, we staged the photo". "Sure you did", the cops reply. "We think she killed her". They believe this because Pat danced with Sonny Tucker at a nightclub, to butter him up and get a scoop on his divorce.The cops think she's a gold digger who was trying to become Wife 8, and did away with Wife Number 7. The only one who can prove Pat's innocence is poor old goofy Ben, who helped her process the fake murder photo. But Chester, being jealous of Ben when he finds out he's not Pat's brother but her boyfriend, has sent him overseas, on an "emergency" photo assignment to Russia, sailing with the U.S. Navy. Pat rots in jail after being arrested for murder, and Ben's not available to prove her innocence. Then they get word that his ship was torpedoed. Now Pat is gonna go to The Chair. What a wind up! With no witness to provide Pat an alibi, Chester has to figure out a way to catch the real murderer. He's in love with Pat and will do anything to save her, but will his efforts be in time?
Nancy Kelly is a comedic revelation, with a beautiful but expressive face that moves around like rubber. She's a riot in a modern way, like a cast member on SNL. She steals the show here, and Phillip Terry, who plays Ben, is perfect as well, as is Richard Gaines as Mr. Turlock the health nut. Chester Morris is great as always, holding down the fort with his rapid fire repartee and crack timing. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Double Exposure", which never lets up. It's highly recommended for top notch screwball, on a low budget film but with top talent. ////
And that's all I know for this evening. I'm listening to "Shine On Brightly" by Procul Harum, a band I only know from two songs ("Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Conquistador"). It's good, though a bit more bluesy than I was expecting. I'm also still on a Beggar's Opera kick, and I finally finished Paul McCartney's "The Lyrics", which is an absolute must-read. I hope your week is off to a good start, and I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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