The Big Combo(1955)

[ERROL23]

Police LT Leonard Diamond(Richard Conte)is out to get hoodlum,MR Brown(Richard Conte)an arrogant,smooth talking crime lord.Browns second in command is Joe McClure(Brian Donlevy)whos organization was taken over by Brown.

 

 

 

Browns mistress,Susan Lowell(Jean Wallace)a beautiful woman is slowly turning into a drug addict because she secretly hates the mobster.Leonard is in love with Susan and warns her to quit Brown.

 

 

 

Leonard gets a lead when he finds that ,Browns wife,Alicia(Helen Walker)and a big time crime czar were once on an ocean trip and the mobster never returned.Alicia soon vanished after the trip,but somewhere shes alive.Susan gives Leonard a picture of Alicia in a mental institution in Italy,but he looks over the picture and finds a sign in English and snow on the ground and knows Alicia is not far away.

 

 

 

Meanwhile,McClure has a plan with Browns top killers,Fante(Lee Van Cleef)and Mingo(Earl Holiman)a simple minded hood,to get rid of Brown.

 

 

 

http://www.impawards.com/1955/big_combo.html

 

 

 

This is one GREAT Film Noir.

 

Edited by: ERROL23 on Jun 1, 2012 8:32 PM

[cigarjoe]

The police detective is played by Cornell Wilde, it is a great film.

 

Edited by: cigarjoe on Jun 4, 2012 5:46 AM

[ERROL23]

I meant Cornel Wilde.I wasnt thinking.Im sorry.

[albiniastone]

The Big Combo of 1955 is good one for people who like 50's movies a lot.

[Iamhere]

 

So glad I found this noir. Vissually stunning. Here is an article on the use of evil and good in a boxing match.

 

 

 

 

http://www.jeremyizzo.com/the-big-combo-and-evil

 

 

[faceinthecrowd]

The only gripe I have about this film is the title: it sounds like a musical.

Richard Conte is terrific, as always. He makes the movie work.

[Noir_Kiss3]

I love this film. It looks and sound the way a noir should. Lurid and dangerous!

I bid on the three sheet poster recently and went too light. Lost.

Definitely in my top 5 noirs.