jaytee-94910 Also love all the characters that show up on tv, in years to come Mr Drexler is Mr Drysedale on Beverly Hillbilly's As a car guy, great selection of cool 50's cars JT: Orlando

LeonLouisRicci The Tag Film-Noir is associated with this Don Siegel Film because of the Psychopathic, Sociopathic Criminals, Atypical Brutality for its Time, and the Unflinching Underbelly of a Heroin Syndicate.The Shadows of First Wave Noir were mostly Gone by the Turn of the Decade Replaced with Gleaming Daytime Milieus containing Freeway Infrastructures that Reflected Eisenhower Era Optimism as Backdrop. But if it was a Noir, it was a Road to Nowhere.This is another of Director Siegels Unforgettable Forays into Crime, Presenting Powerful Punctuating Murders committed by the Psychologically Disturbed but Pathologically Interesting and the Criminally Insane.Eli Wallach is the Totally Bonkers "Dancer", a completely Detached Personality that like an Animal can only Track One Thing at a Time. If You Cross His Path an Upset His Method of Attaining the Task at Hand, it's Curtains. He can be Restrained by His "Handler", if in Close Proximity, but Otherwise.For 1958, these Characterizations were not found on TV Shows and this kind of thing was Rare even for the Movies. "The Lineup" was based on a Long Running Series but it was brought to the Big Screen with a Bravado of Realism. There are many Set-Pieces that are Striking and Unforgettable, one Involving a Mother and Child in Peril that is Gut-Wrenching.One of Don Siegel's Best Efforts containing a Good Sterling Silliphant Script and Impressive Cinematography.

Michael Neumann This unspectacular cops and robbers chase through the streets of San Francisco sees the City's Finest hot (actually more lukewarm) on the trail of a network of heroin traffickers, finally cornering them on the unfinished Embarcadero Freeway, still under construction in 1958. To its credit the film (based on an early television series) neatly incorporates several Bay Area locations into the plot, but the style is as dated as the gray hats and suits worn by the uncharismatic paragons of law and order in their unblinking pursuit of evidence. The villains, thankfully, are given more attention, making an attractive assortment of psychopaths and social misfits.

MartinHafer The first half of this very realistic and gripping crime film is very good. However, this is a case where a film keeps getting better and better--culminating in an exciting and rather violent conclusion. And, while this film isn't exactly "Film Noir" in every way, it has many Noir sensibilities that will no doubt please fans of the genre.The film stars Eli Wallach, though interestingly enough he doesn't even appear in the film for about the first 15 minutes. Instead, the film begins with a robbery gone bad in which, inexplicably, a tourist's luggage is stolen and the getaway car runs into a truck and kills a cop! The crime is so violent and senseless--until the police understand the real reason why they needed the suitcase. It turns out that tourists are unknowingly transporting souvenirs that are actually filled with heroin--and the mob will stop at nothing to get the drugs back--and I mean NOTHING! Wallach's job in the film is to retrieve these drugs and for a rather ordinary looking guy, he was amazingly cold and violent. He has no problem at all killing these tourists and ultimately he takes a mother and daughter hostage because they have inadvertently destroyed the heroin hidden in a doll. Instead of killing them, he takes them prisoner because he wants to prove to his superiors that he is not trying to cheat them. However, despite this, they don't believe him--leading to one of the more violent and amazing confrontations I have ever seen on film. I made my jaw drop--as did the very end as well. For a 1950s film, it was super-violent and highly reminiscent of Noir.Speaking of Noir, as I said this film had many of the usual Noir elements. However, its dialog was much more polished and less gritty than Noir and the lighting and camera angles were too normal and polished (like a TV episode) to be considered Noir by many fans. Still, despite me being a huge fan of the genre, I really didn't mind as the film was still a thrilling and taut suspense film.A highly underrated and under-appreciated little film that deserves to be seen.