This is a little British murder mystery, not a noir. The main character is a nice shlub, not a tough guy. There is very little tension or menace and certainly not any cynicism or existential despair. The dialog and bits of business are pretty funny and practically everyone in the film, including the villain, seems basically likable. Dane Clark does a very good job, although he will go on to do better. The plot offers a steady diet of red herring, but plot is not this film's strong suit. The whole thing is so likable that you may find yourself cringing that the plot and twists and turns seem so aimless and gratuitous, but it doesn't pretend to be more than a grade B movie with some good acting and good dialog.
Blackout
1954
Action / Crime / Drama / Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller
Blackout
1954
Action / Crime / Drama / Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller
Plot summary
When a beautiful girl offers Casey Morrow a lot of money for a mystery job, Morrow doesn't ask too many questions. But when the girl's father is found murdered the following day and Morrow's coat is soaked with blood perhaps a little more caution should have been exercised. An intriguing story of deception, greed and immorality.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
October 11, 2020 at 05:37 AM
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Fun, pleasant and silly, but not a noir
Watchable, despite the incomprehensible plot.
Down on his luck, and stranger in town, Casey Morrow, meets a beautiful young woman, and agrees to marry her for £500.
I'm not sure I'd have needed the fee to have agreed to marry Belinda Lee, she was genuinely jaw dropping here, not just that she steals the show with a killer performance.
My title may be a a little too far, but when you try to put the various pieces of the plot together, it genuinely doesn't make any sense, the behaviours of the character, their actions and motives, make no sense, and as for the killer's identity, that truly does come straight out of left field.
Despite the plot, it's enjoyable enough, it's atmospheric, and for a British noise, it actually looks impressive, even to this day.
One day I'll rewatch it, and maybe try to interpret the plot better, but as it stands, it's the main detractor here, 6/10.
A bit saggy, but Belinda Lee is exceptional
BLACKOUT is a typical British noir flick of the 1950s with a fairly good turn from American import Dane Clark, who starts off being drunk out of his head and seduced by a blonde femme fatale (the exceptional Belinda Lee). When he wakes up the next morning he finds himself enmeshed in a murder plot and must fight to extricate himself. This film was one of the thrillers that Hammer made before moving into the horror genre and it's fairly average, not quite as good as others they made during the era (such as the underrated CLOUDBURST). Clark is a bit of a weedy hero and constantly out of his depth while the plot gets a bit bogged down during the middle stages, lacking that spark of suspense to keep it moving; the classic 'saggy middle'. Still, things do pick up for the twist-upon-twist climax, so at least it ends on a high, and the tragic Lee helps to make this worthwhile.