Review of The Chase (1946) by Oliver S — 16 Aug 2010

Director Arthur Ripley has earned the reputation of a cult figure, especially through his direction of the Robert Mitchum moonshiner film "Thunder Road" (1958). But 1946's "The Chase" is probably his best and richest B-production. As a film noir, the movie has many of the style's formal and thematic preoccupations on display: moody cinematography, the mysterious woman who seems to attract danger, use of flashbacks, an oneirism that permeates the film and causes the distinction between reality and dream to become blurred, and, of course, the traumatized ex-G.I. (Robert Cummings) returned home.

The two heavies, played by Steve Cochran and Peter Lorre, have faces that only add to the film's distinctively noir iconography. The film also has lurid, masochistic behavior on display, as in the scene where Cochran slaps his hairdresser in the face. Without giving it away, I will say that the film also contains one of the more bizarre sequences in all of film noir, a fear-inducing moment that takes place within a speeding car. Stylish, violent, and dreamlike, "The Chase" is a noir rarity that is a must for anyone wanting a thorough understanding of the style and its archetypal components.

*** Three Stars.

-Oliver Spivey.