Review of Walk the Dark Street (1956) by Van R — 09 Dec 2011

"Monster from the Ocean Floor" director Wyott Ordung spent his life in Hollywood working on one grade-Z movie after another. For example, he served as the assistant director on a couple of schlocky sagas "Navy Vs. the Night Monsters" (1966) and "The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals" (1969). He penned the screenplay for the so-bad-it's-good science fiction film "Robot Monster." He wrote the John Ireland backlot Korean War epic "Combat Squad" and the not-quite-as-bad sci-fi flick "Target: Earth." Later, he wrote the Robert Day directed sci-fier "First Man into Space," a generally respectable effort. Surprisingly enough, Ordung (talk about a self-prophesying surname) wrote and directed a real diamond in the rough with his 1956 outing "Walk the Dark Street" that toplines Chuck Connors of TV's "The Rifleman" fame. The psychotic that Connors plays in this film noir entry has little in common with Lucas McCain. Indeed, both carried rifles, but the comparison ends at the hardware. Connors plays big-game safari hunter Frank Garrick in "Walk the Dark Street." With a title like "Walk the Dark Street," you'd expect this breezy low-budget thriller would take place under street lamps, but it doesn't. The action transpires at night and during the day, but the use of 'dark' in the title is more metaphorical than literal. Ordung has cleverly put a fresh spin on the vintage Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game" that won O. Henry Memorial Prize when Colliers magazine published it back in 1924 and done an efficient job of it. Mind you, this survivalist thriller differs enough from the usual item to stand out on its own with more than a modicum of merit. Some of the things that Ordung tries to get away with probably wouldn't have flown back in the 1950s, but "Walk the Dark Street" doesn't seem too far-fetched by today's standards.

Revenge lies at the heart of "Walk the Dark Street." Frank Garrick dearly loved his good-for-nothing little brother, U.S. Army Sergeant Tommy Garrick (Eddie Kafafian of "Flesh and the Spur"), and he cherishes a hand-written letter that little brother sent him from Korea. Apparently, the military handed out a battlefield commission and chose another sergeant, Dan Lawton (veteran TV guest star actor Don Ross), over him. One day, Tommy goes berserk and disobeys Lawton's orders and is riddled by sniper fire. Before Tommy died, he wrote Frank about Lawton and assured him that if he died, Lawton would be the prime suspect. Of course, Lawton had no control over Tommy's demise. The insubordinate fool got himself killed with his impulsive behavior. After the war, Lawton comes home to find his sporting goods store in the doldrums because of his business partner's inability to manage it. Meantime, he pays Frank Garrick a visit and explains the circumstances surrounding Tony's unfortunate death. Garrick treats Lawton with courtesy, pours him a drink, and even shows him some 16mm film of a safari that he went on in Asia. Interestingly enough, the footage of a crocodile and later a python look better than anything from "Wild Kingdom." Frank explains that he suffers from a poor heart and his physician prohibits him from hunting. Nevertheless, Frank wants to go on a different hunt. He wants to hunt a man. Initially, Lawton is dubious about such an endeavor until Frank explains that he has perfected a cartridge that takes a picture of his target rather than blowing it to smithereens. Lawton would like to oblige him in the hunt, but he is wrestling with his business woes. Frank offers to pay Lawton the sum of $10-thousand dollars if he can out-hunt him. Lawton doesn't have that kind of cash and he is $5-thousand in the hole as it is with his business. Frank dismisses the inequality of the deal and convinces Lawton to compete with him. He prepares a map and confines the hunt to the concrete jungle of Los Angeles, California. Writer & director Ordung delivers modest gem with a couple of twists that make it a good movie to watch. The only other character of any substance is Helen Leyden (Regina Gleason of "Speed Crazy") who was Tommy's girlfriend that Frank hated. Mind you, "The Most Dangerous Game" has been remade many times, but "Walk the Dark Street" qualifies as one of the better variations.