Raw Deal

CLASSIC FLIX - RESTORED BLU-RAY --- There's a reason why this Film Noir is on Film Noir foundation president Eddie Muller's top 25 List -- It's excellent ! --- Many reviewers have already covered the plot (some too well) - You know, spoiler city. --- So I'll merely lay a little framework in that department -- Dennis Okeefe stars as does Clair Trevor and IMO they are at their best here in "Raw Deal" - Raymond Burr (yeah Perry Mason) is excellent as the ruthless,heartless sadisticly cruel villain here and the other supporting actors are very good as well. ---This is a very gritty Noir complete with Prison Breakouts,Ruthless tough guys, Bad guy villains, Tortured souls,Love sick Femme Fatales and one of the best fight scenes in any Noir out there. --- The film is well paced, directed, acted and comes with a great script, narration and something always going on. -- You better have all your refreshments, snacks and popcorn by your side before you start this flick as there's never a dull moment from beginning to end. --- The biggest news in this release though is the great restoration and Blu-ray transfer. --- All former prints had washed out detail and looked quite muddy. --- Classic Flix did a very good job providing us with a MAJORLY improved print. --- Many of us have waited many years for a nice release of this film and it seemed like it was never going to happen. -- So I for one would like to thank the guys over at Classic Flix for taking this project up and putting a smile on us hardcore Noir fan's faces. --- I have seen over 100 Film Noir flicks and I highly recommend this one as it's one of the better one's out there as well as one of my personal favorites. --- I hope this info helps you out.

I saw this movie a while back on TCM's "Noir Alley". I liked it and wanted to add it to my collection of classic film noir movies, but was hesitant because I had never heard of Classic Flix. I decided to take a shot, and I'm glad I did. Classic Flix did an awesome job on the restoration, which is in 2K resolution. It really highlights the superb cinematography of John Alton.So if you're like me, and are on the fence about purchasing this Blu-Ray because Classic Flix isn't as well known as say, Criterion Collection, I can assure you that you won't be disappointed. Great movie, great direction by Anthony Mann, gorgeously photographed by John Alton, and some nice bonus features to boot. Couldn't be happier with this purchase.

In this low-budget 1948 film noir, several characters grew up in poverty in an area of San Francisco called Corkscrew Alley and go on to a life of crime. Joe (Dennis O'Keefe) is a convict who has taken a fall for a mobster, Rick, (Raymond Burr) who has gone on to a life of wealth and luxury, padding around his large home in a silk robe. Pat (Claire Trevor) is Joe's long-term and long-suffering lady friend and also part of Rick's organization. Pat works as an agent of Rick to help spring Joe from jail. Joe and Pat hope to collect $50,000 that Rick has promised to Joe for taking the rap for the crime.Pat's and Joe's dreams are upended by another woman, Ann, (Marsha Hunt), who worked with Joe's defense attorney and has fallen for her client. Ann unwillingly becomes involved in Joe's escape. As the three, Joe, Pat, and Ann, flee the police, Joe's affections change, leaving Pat with the "Raw Deal". While not coming from Corkscrew Alley, Ann has had a life of poverty and toughness of her own but has managed to get an education and work on the side of the law.I hadn't seen "Raw Deal" before and was taken with it. It is a short, sleazy, and gritty melodrama. Anthony Mann directed the film which features the noir cinematography of John Alton. Alton's camera and noir vision are it work in the prison scenes, the urban streets, the roads, the isolated rural areas and beaches, and the docks in which the action takes place. The photographs are dark, forbidding and angular. The musical score by Paul Sawfell builds up the suspense of the story.The film reminded me of the novels of David Goodis in which a loner and a loser is involved with two women, a good girl and a bad girl. In this film, the hard-bitten, unfortunate Pat narrates the film in voice-over, an unusual role for a woman in a noir film. The film is full of violence and sadism in the character of Rick and includes several brutal fight scenes. The film manages to capture the viewer's sympathy for the three main characters."Raw Deal" is listed as no. 25 in Eddie Muller's list of the 25 best film noirs. Muller is known as the "czar of noir" and I have learned a great deal from his commentary on noir film, and on this film. If anything, I thought Muller's rating a little low. This film was unknown to me and a sleeper, and I was glad to see it. "Raw Deal" and its story of the poverty and trouble emanating from Corkscrew Alley, will appeal to lovers of film noir.Robin Friedman

The kid with a medal.Raw Deal is directed by Anthony Mann and adapted by Leopold Atlas & John C. Higgins from a suggested story by Arnold B. Armstrong & Audrey Ashley. It stars Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, John Ireland & Raymond Burr. Paul Sawtell scores the music and John Alton is the cinematographer.Convict Joe Sullivan (O'Keefe), incarcerated after taking a fall, breaks out of jail with the help of his girl, Pat Cameron (Trevor). But something is amiss, brutish mobster Rick Coyle (Burr) is influencing proceedings behind the scenes, he needs to because he owes Joe big time. Kidnapping Joe's social worker, Ann Martin (Hunt), Joe & Pat hit the road, it's a road that will lead to desperate consequences for many.A raw fatalistic film noir that sees the ace pairing of director Mann and photographer Alton. They, along with O'Keefe, had made T-Men the year previously, itself a tough piece of film making. Raw Deal is the lesser known movie of the two, but that's not in any way indicative of the quality of Raw Deal, for it's most assuredly the real deal for sure. What unfolds over the 80 minutes running time is a plot full of characters destined for disappointments or even worse; rarely has the title for a film been as apt as it is here! Mann & Alton move the tight screenplay thru a shadowy world of half-lit images and high contrast brutality. Jittery cameras are supplemented by unbalanced angles, which in turn are boosted by Sawtell's music compositions. One of the best decisions made by Mann and Sawtell is that of the narration by Trevor, in itself unusual for a woman of noir to narrate, it's sorrowful and mournful in tone anyway, but with Sawtell scoring it with the theremin it plays out as part of a nightmarish dream-state.O'Keefe was not the leading man type, but that's perfect for this film, he offers a credibility to a man whose life has taken a down turn, where his only comfort is being a thorn between two roses, but with that comes more problems as he seeks to only breathe the fresh air of freedom. Trevor (loyal and knowing moll) and Hunt (dainty with whiffs of goodness seeping from every pore) play off each other very well, offering up a sort of devil and angel on Joe's shoulders motif. Burr is shot from the waist up, giving his character even more emphasise as a hulking, sadistic brute, and rounding out the good performances is Ireland as a sly hit-man type who revels in getting a rise out of his paymaster. But no doubt about it, the real star of the show is Alton's photography, itself the critical character. Mann's film would have been great and got through on his direction and script anyway, but with Alton's camera it ends up being essential for the film noir faithful.From the opening, where the credits show up on the background of prison bar shadows, to the no cop out-classic noir-ending, Raw Deal hits the mark. A film that's bleak and at times brutal, yet rich in emotional depth. A must see for like minded cinephiles. 9/10

Raw Deal is a splendid, tough and inexplicably underrated film noir. I'd never heard of it until it turned up on Amazon but I decided to take a gamble and order it. I'm glad I did. It's a terrific film. I love its unpretentiousness, every scene is crafted beautifully and yet there's no sense of self-indulgence either in the direction or the excellent cinematography. The whole cast is excellent, Dennis O'Keefe makes no attempt to give his character any discernable redeeming features yet manages to keep us interested in his fate. It's especially good to see Raymond Burr in his wild years before he became tamed by TV via Perry Mason and Ironside. I don't understand the criticism of Marsha Hunt made elsewhere in these reviews, for me her performances captures vividly a nice but impressionable young woman's journey from total certainty about the world into a state of confusion all because of a sexual attraction she doesn't even understand. But if that all sounds a bit high-falutin' for a gritty, tough crime movie, don't worry. The psychological aspects don't weigh the story down at all. The film rattles along at such a good pace you can just sit back and enjoy what is a jailbreak/road/revenge/gangster/love triangle movie all rolled up in around 80 mins. Fantastic value. I wish contemporary film makers could be this economical with our time.

Pat (Claire Trevor) narrates the story of her involvement with boyfriend Joe (Dennis O'Keefe) from the night that he escapes from prison until she is arrested. The story follows them on the run with Ann (Marsha Hunt). Who does Joe really love? It is obvious to all concerned...This film has a dramatic tension created by two women fighting over one man while they all try and make an escape together. The cast are fine with a particular mention to Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt who inject the emotion into the story as O'Keefe seems completely devoid of any. Raymond Burr who plays "Rick" and John Ireland who plays "Fantail" make a couple of good bad guys and there is one disturbing scene where Burr's character throws a dish which is on fire onto his girlfriend's face - we didn't really need that. It certainly is a raw deal for everyone in this film.There are some nicely filmed scenes, eg, when Pat and Joe are on the boat minutes from departing to a new country and we focus on Pat's profile until she finally breaks the tension by calling out Ann's name. Overall, it's an entertaining film even if the outcome is obvious.

For those who love noir, this is a respectable addition. It is tightly directed, with a good noir atmosphere, and keeps the attention. The narration from the girlfriend's point of view is unusual for a noir and gives the film a fresh angle.

The film has a fair bit going for it - a director with flair, a great black and white cameraman, and a solid cast. In the DVD form delivered here by Orbit Media it burns on re-entry. Not that the print from which is was transferred is badly affected by scratches or the sound is bad - it's good - the problem is that the print is dirty and it has been transferred using nasty pan-and-scan, so that the image, especially in wider shots, shows the lines, as if you were watching it through gauze or a fine venetian blind. It is a travesty. If the film were something from the top shelf, you'd feel even angrier. As it is, Anthony Mann was still finding his way as a director and the story is straight 'B' picture stuff. It's just you'd like to be able to enjoy John Alton's moody, memorable camerawork.