Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

just watch it!

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A faked robbery goes awry and a cop is killed, causing the perpetrators to frame an innocent kid to take the rap. What they don't foresee is the kid's stubborn sister.John Ireland makes one nasty bad guy, and when he lovingly polishes that gunbarrel with perfumed bullets, we get the idea. Yes indeed, he's more than just a bad guy. The movie's a crime drama done in noirish style by the expert Anthony Mann. There's little of the hallmark ambiguity of classic noir in the characters. Nonetheless, there's the innocent kid Steve (Kelly) who looks to be the victim of a malevolent noirish fate. Of course, there has to be a cheap dame in the crime mix, and Jane Randolph flops around effectively as Duke's (Ireland) brassy blonde punching bag. Note how the movie starts out in slam-bang fashion, and how effectively Mann uses close- ups, especially of the suddenly terrified Marie (Converse), to turn screen violence into a sense of real violence. This, I think, was a Mann specialty and one reason he's treasured by fans of noir. Then too, that shootout in the shadowy nightclub amounts to a clever touch of visual imagination. No, the story itself is not exactly novel, while Beaumont makes the kind of cop you'd expect from Beaver Cleaver's dad. Still, the movie's done with style and conviction, with an outstanding turn from Ireland, and rightfully belongs in the canon of 40's noir.

Railroaded! (1947) *** (out of 4) Anthony Mann directed this thriller, which has a Detective (Hugh Beaumont) trying to clear an innocent man of murder charges. The Detective eventually falls for the suspect's sister (Sheila Ryan), which leads to a wannabe gangster (John Ireland) who we know is the real killer. This is a pretty suspenseful and highly entertaining little film that has a whole lot going for it. Mann does a terrific job at keeping the film moving very nicely and he has enough interesting characters for two films. This was my first time seeing Beaumont outside of his role of the father on Leave it to Beaver and I was shocked to see how well he played a tough guy. His Detective has all the charm, energy and toughness, which is expected in a film like this. Ireland is terrific as the thug and Ryan does a nice job, although she's not on the same level as the two men. There's also a wonderful fight between two women, which has to be seen to be believed.

This is just the sort of Film Noir film I love--one that features realism and gritty dialog PLUS some dynamite actors who are anything but what you'd expect to be starring in a Hollywood film! Like many of the great Noir characters, John Ireland is menacing, kind of ugly as well as cruel and unrepentant. The way he slaps around his girl and the darkness of his soul made him a great leading thug in this movie. His nemesis is Hugh Beaumont (yes, that's the Beaver's dad) and he did a decent job overall as the lead investigator except for one very, very brief moment when he planted a very clumsy kiss on the leading lady--this just didn't make much sense and didn't fit at all into the film.The bottom line is that this is a good detective film--much like the original DRAGNET movie or T-Men. While you don't see the familiar Noir stars (such as Edmund O'Brien), it does deliver in regard to mood, snappy dialog and intensely gritty realism.

"Railroaded!" is hyped as film noir but it is not...classically. The look is dark and the mood is somewhat somber, but, the principal characters are aloof. Classic film noir involves principal characters with whom we empathize at least a little (Walter Neff, Dix Handley)but who either die or are fully demoralized in the end (whom the French called the 'damned man'). The only person we give a hoot about is poor Steve, the accused. Steve (Ed Kelly) is a small role not really involved in the story despite being the object in it.Maltin rates "Railroaded!" with 3 stars. That's one star too many. Ireland and Sheila Ryan give good performances but standard all the way. The best line is by Steve's mother about her cake ("Who could eat a cake with a gun in it?").