Rich359 Fairly good low-budget noir about a train-heist. Problem is that I lost interest in the main character when it is disclosed that he is having an affair with the doctors wife. His wife was so loyal and attentive to him that we lose his motivation as to why we wanted to do the heist. Was he going to leave his wife behind at start a new life with new money? How was he going to deal with the doctor? And why did he murder the plane mechanic? He seems to be such a heel that we don't care what happens to him. Would have been a much better film if the motivation was just the money. Silly requirement to make reviews 10 line minimum! ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES RICH A DULL BOY. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES..

LeonLouisRicci Budget Restraints might Hold Back this B-Movie, Independently Produced, Directed, and Starring Mark Stevens, it Nevertheless makes its "Mark" as an Interesting Cheapie.With a Good Script and Pithy Noir Dialog..."For me patience is poison.", this Little Movie, now in the "Public Domain", has been virtually Forgotten, although it is Shown on TCM but is need of Restoration if possible. It is too Good to be Lost in the Ether.The aforementioned Budget Restrictions do Draw Attention at times with a number of Scenes Staged in Small Rooms with the Camera Stationary. However, Director Stevens does the Best He Can with Dutch Angles and Artsy Camera Placements. He even seems to Know that it doesn't Hurt to amp up the Style with some Striking Shadows on the Wall.The "Perfect Crime" Thread throughout the proceedings is a Cliché that is Hammered Home a bit too much (even with a poster shout out), it is given a Blackboard and Eraser (a fitting low budget tool) that Fills the Frame at times, to illustrate the Investigator's Chops, learned We are told , from His Father.Family, the Nuclear Family, is at the Center of Motivation here and it is most Relevant, because by this Time, 1956, the Eisenhower Eras American Dream and White Picket Fence Mentality had become a Reality for the Film-Noir Discontents. War Veterans who Found Themselves uncomfortably roped like Wild Animals plucked from the Battlefields and placed on Display in Suburbia for all to Rubberneck. The House Indeed became a Prison and the Job a Trap. The White Picket Fence was the Clanking of a Cage Door. The Nightmares Begin for those on Display in Film-Noir.

MartinHafer "Time Table" is a rather forgotten crime film which was directed by and stars Mark Stevens—a very capable but mostly forgotten actor from the 50s and 60s. It's really a shame the film isn't seen and lauded, as it's quite good—especially since it has a very modest budget. I've never seen it on TV nor DVD but fortunately it IS in the public domain and is therefore available through archive.org—a website often linked to films on IMDb. Download a free copy and watch it—it's quite good.The film starts off wonderfully—with one of the most intelligently filmed heists I can remember. You really need to see it—and I don't want to spoil it by saying more about this. In the next scene, a couple are talking about their upcoming and much-needed vacation to Mexico when the phone rings—the husband (Stevens) is needed at once. It seems he's an investigator for the insurance company covering the heist—and they want him to look into it ASAP. This means the vacation is on hold.When the investigation begins, it's quite obvious that the crime was very, very professional and was carried out with attention to every detail. However, during the robbery, somehow one of the gang was injured—and this might be the lead they need to break the case. But, in a WONDERFUL twist, the audience soon learns that there is so much more to the story than anyone has anticipated and the identity of the big brains of the operation is quite the surprise. I'd say more but don't want to spoil it.Some might consider this film to be an example of Film Noir. Well, it is a crime film from the 1950s and is pretty unflinchingly violent in places. However, the film lacks the snappy dialog and cinematography you'd expect for Noir. I personally like the way the movie was handled, as it seemed more realistic than Noir—like you were watching a real investigation unfold. Fascinating throughout.

Robert J. Maxwell Mark Stevens, who also directed, is Charlie Norman, an insurance investigator. He seems to be a casual guy, chummy with his boss, married to a dull but loyal woman, leading a customary suburban life. We see him called in a case involving the robbery of half a million dollars from a train. The photography is flat, the dialog routine.About a third of the way through, he's in the kitchen with his wife, and during a perfectly uninteresting conversational exchange, he slams the table and vomits a torrent of complaints. Charlie may not be what he seems.And in fact he's NOT what he seems. He's the brains behind half dozen mob members who pulled off the train robbery. He's no longer in love with his wife but with the beautiful Felicia Farr, who is married to one of the gang members. He plans to run off to Mexico City with Farr, except that the plan -- the timetable -- is upset by the fact that he's been assigned by the insurance company to his own case by his friendly boss, King Calder.Things go awry. The center does not hold. The plan unravels bit by bit, as it always does in these crime movies, and Charlie winds up killing another gang member, then a slime ball in Tijuana. He gets what's coming to him, and as he's dying in his boss's arms, like Fred MacMurray in "Double Indemnity," he gets to utter a last line -- "I guess this wasn't in the timetable either." As a director, Steven is okay. The most memorable thing about the film is the switch from flat, high-key lighting in the first third, to the murky shadows and blinking neons of the rest. It's professional, no more than that.None of the performances stand out much. Stevens has done better elsewhere ("Street With No Name," "Jack Slade"). He doesn't challenge himself here. Nobody else has too much to do. King Calder is an ordinary but reliable actor. Wesley Addy is a doctor gone bad, and he seems to fit the role with his distingué demeanor and appearance -- and those wide and unprincipled lips bespeaking weakness. At about this time, Addy also played a murderous thug in another movie -- the name of which I forget -- and he was totally unsuited for the role. Wesley Addy is a bad doctor, not a thug. Check him out as the bad doctor in "The Verdict." The structure is pretty formulaic. Gang members are at odds with one another after a caper. And the depth of character of, say, "The Asphalt Jungle" is simply absent.Don't expect much and you might enjoy it more.