Spikeopath Desperate is directed by Anthony Mann who also collectively writes the story and screenplay with Harry Essex, Martin Rackin and Dorothy Atlas. It stars Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr, Audrey Long, Douglas Fowley, William Challee and Jason Robards Senior. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by George E. Diskant.After innocently being roped into a robbery that goes wrong, Steve Randall (Brodie) and his lover, Anne (Long), are forced to go on the run when a vengeful gangster seeks an eye for a eye retribution.One of Anthony Mann's first forays into film noir, Desperate is a lovers on the run drama instilled with impressive noir touches. Short sharp shock in running time parlance, film takes the form of innocents thrust into a perilous fight to survive. The middle section is a bit too airy and draggy, with a wedding sequence still further pushing the picture away from the brilliant dark tone set up earlier, and for sure the Randall couple are a bit too precious at times, but when it's trawling the alleyways of film noir it's a classy piece of film.The first third features a quite excellent "beating" sequence that showcases the skills of Messrs Mann and Diskant. Filmed in a darkly lit room, the scene plays out in the fluctuating shadows of a swinging overhead light. This is menacing enough but Mann also introduces some potent close up shots of a fist and a broken bottle to really emphasise grim tones. Then the final third comes back into noir territory where we are indulged in a ticking clock countdown that leads to a finale played out on four stories of shadowy stair wells. With Burr offering up a considerable turn of hulking villainy, there's much to recommend here, where were it not for the middle section then this would be up with the best of Mann's noirs. Still, it's very much one for Mann and film noir fans to seek out. 7/10

st-shot After being unwittingly dragged into a heist that goes gone wrong truck driver Steve Randall ( Steve Brodie) and wife Ann (Audrey Long) take it on the lam not only to escape the police but also Radak (Raymond Burr) who wants to revenge his brother getting the chair.One of a handful of well made B noirs made by director Anthony Mann in the forties Desperate is a bit of a threadbare They Live by Night with Brodie and Long giving decent performances as the on the run duo and Burr and imposing one as the cold sadistic thug. Mann moves the film at a brisk enough pace while he and cinematographer George Dyskant provide some of their standard noir canvases, especially a staircase finale, to amp up suspense.

bkoganbing Raymond Burr shines in Desperate an early film in his career. You could tell this man was going to be films for the long haul. Although it would have been a shame if he only was cast as thuggish gangsters for the rest of his life.But in that part he steals the film from leads Steve Brodie and Audrey Long. Brodie is a friend of Burr's since childhood and Brodie's recently returned from the war, married his sweetheart Long, and is now settling into a career as a truck-driver. Burr conceives a brilliant scheme in which he hires Brodie for his truck as part of a heist only he doesn't tell Brodie about it. When the heist is a bust and Burr's younger brother is captured and a cop killed in foiling the robbery, Burr's conceives a nasty hatred for Brodie and Brodie and Long have to flee. Suspicion is also on Brodie so the police are after him as well.It's really quite preposterous when you think about it. Burr takes the eager kid brother along on the job because the brother wants to emulate his sibling. Then when he's caught it isn't his fault, it's the fault of the guy who was tricked into it and who foiled Burr's plans. But I saw a situation like that in my own life.I knew this man who was in fact quite a lowlife himself. But he did rise to a position of some authority and insisted on bringing his equally raised lowlife son into his business. The kid was also a prize specimen with a serious drug problem and was busy in his supervisory position extorting the other employees for monies to feed his habit. The father was completely blind to his kid's problem, it was everyone else who was conspiring against his precious son. In the end the kid both lost the job and ended dying of cocaine contributed heart problems. To this day the father won't recognize his own culpability. In a nutshell that's Raymond Burr's character here.Steve Brodie had a good career as a secondary lead, this was one of his few starring roles. He was a good actor, but his height prevented him from gaining stardom and he didn't have the charisma of a James Cagney who could have really done something with this character. So could Alan Ladd over at Paramount. Audrey Long is probably best remembered for playing opposite John Wayne in Tall In The Saddle where she is in competition with Ella Raines for the Duke. Brodie and Long are fine, but this is really Raymond Burr's film.

Petri Pelkonen Steve Randall has just got married.He works as an independent trucker.He's hired by an old friend to haul some freight.At the warehouse he realizes he has been hired to haul away some stolen goods.Things get out of hands and a police officer gets shot.Steve gets kidnapped, and Walt Radak, the leader, threats to mutilate his wife if he doesn't confess the murder done by Radak's brother during the theft.But he manages to escape, and he takes his wife with him.Desperate (1947) is a film noir directed by Anthony Mann.There was a man who could handle the film noir, the westerns and whatnot.The cast is great.Steve Brodie and Audrey Long make a great couple as Steve and Anne Randall.Raymond Burr makes a great villain as Walt Radak.Douglas Fowley is very good as Pete Lavitch, Private Eye.William Challee is great as Reynolds.Jason Robards is terrific as Det. Lt. Louie Ferrari.Paul E. Burns is fantastic as Uncle Jan.And so is Ilka Grüning as Aunt Klara.Dick Elliott is superb as Sheriff Hat Lewis.The movie offers many thrills.One great moment is when Steve has taken a car and it stops running, so they get a lift from a man.This man happens to be the sheriff.And when the crooks arrive at Aunt Klara's place.Anthony Mann certainly knew what he was doing, and he did it right.