Review of Pushover (1954) by Wayne S — 12 Aug 2010
10 years after the fact, Fred MacMurray returns to familiar Double Indemnity territory: guy gets seduced into a committing the very crime he's supposed to investigate. But the similarities are actually rather slight, and this doesn't feel entirely like a rehash.
Kim Novak is a more romantic, less femme fatale-ish character than Stanwyck, for one thing. There's a heavy voyeurism vibe going on that's very interesting. Richard Quine's direction is not terribly inventive, but it's solid, and the story is quite well-plotted with a lot of tension as MacMurray and Novak's scheme unravels.
For the average joe this is probably a weak film, but for a noir fan it does the trick. The leads are both strong, with good supporting performances by E.G. Marshall, Dorothy Malone and Philip Carey. The photography is a little flat at times, but some scenes really shine, especially towards the end.
Lousy music, though.
This review of Pushover (1954) was written by Wayne S on 12 Aug 2010.
Pushover has generally received mixed reviews.
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