Such a frustrating disappointment

Blistering performances.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

B films are usually poorly put together, don't usually have mainstream names, even for 1951. But I read several places it's a B film but I actually don't think it is. I may be wrong. I love film noir films; many people do. It's the edge, I think. This is a different type of film noir, this has a philosophical slant to it. It's mainly in the beginning, and part of the middle, and a bit at the end. But it's there. If you're into philosophical thought, as I am, then the slowness of the beginning shouldn't bother you too much, or perhaps it will, I don't know. Didn't for me.I read a few external/internal reviews that the fight scene was too long. It lasted two minutes (I timed it). I've seen Western B films where fight scenes lasted up to ten minutes. Two minutes is nothing.My favorite two characters were Connie Carter (Mercedes McCambridge) who sings a couple of songs but good songs, and Ezra Thompson (James Barton). Maybe because they brought humor to where humor probably shouldn't have been in such a bleak story. The story is simple: man goes to death row for a murder he didn't commit but gets commuted because apparently he's insane so goes to an asylum. He escapes the asylum to find out if he actually is crazy and committed the crime. Someone helps him out but a few weeks later he gets caught and that's where it usually ends but not in this. He made friends and they choose to prove his innocence.There was one part that you do find in B Westerns I didn't care for: shooting the gun out of the bad guy's hand. That is only easy when it's setup to be easy. And, in these old films you rarely see them aim handguns so just a regular cop shooting a gun at a bad guy's hand isn't guaranteed to work. I felt up to that point, for the times, everything was plausible. That scene prevented me from giving this a 9/10.Overall, I quite enjoyed it.

Odd and very Strange Film-Noir. An Independent Production with a Low-Budget but High on Expressionism and Striking Scenes of Low-Brow, Everyday People in Their Environment.John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge are an Iconic Noir Couple. He of Intensity showing a Film-Noir Staple, Amnesia. Escaping from a Mental Institution and Confused about His Guilt (imprisoned for strangling a girl with a scarf and deemed "criminally insane").McCambridge shows up in a Flashback (another Noir staple) Hitch-Hiking on a Road to Nowhere (a gig as a singer/waitress in a Dive). Her Nickname says it all, "Cash and Carry Connie". She is as Odd as Ireland with Her "Common and Unclassical" Look, Speaking in Short Clipped Sentences that Reveal Street Knowledge, Strength and a Fearful Cynical Attitude.The Settings are Dismal and Bleak (prison, turkey ranch, and bar). James Barton, as the Turkey Ranch Owner, takes Ireland Under His Wing as the Search for the Truth Unfolds. All of the Characters in this Noir World are Offbeat and Interesting. Besides Our "Heroes", the Cops, Doctors, Farmer, Bar-Keep, and even the Piano Player are Bizarre and Noir.Overall, this is an Off-Kilter Movie in every sense. Disturbing, Other Wordly, Shady, and Weird. Mercedes McCambridge, in this Underseen Gem, can Walk Alongside Ann Savage in "Detour" (1945) as a Quintessential B-Girl in a B-Movie with Style, Shocks, and Suspense. One of Film-Noir's Least Known and Unacknowledged Entries.

John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge who were together in All The King's Men are cast together in The Scarf. Ireland plays an escapee from a mental asylum who is there because he strangled a woman allegedly. Mercedes McCambridge plays a woman who helps him out as does James Barton who gives him refuge at his turkey ranch.Ireland reasons that while he has no memory of the event he also has no feelings of guilt and would if he actually did the deed. From this premise he seeks answers.A lot of very good players are in this story, but it could have been a lot better plotted than it was. I was also not satisfied with the ending, it was definitely a let down. It's also obvious who the real killer is.Fans of any of the cast members should like The Scarf, but it definitely deserved better writing and direction.

Unfortunately being a psychiatrist myself kind of ruined this movie content wise (the first part where insanity is debated--shows only people who know absolutely nothing of mental illness). But maybe that was the point as John Ireland hadn't a trace of mental illness--just some sort of PTSD and amnesia.The British Doctor as the paranoid schizophrenic was a stupid cartoon version but much closer the mark and what most B audiences would view as mental illness (fortunately this idiotic denouement only lasts for about the last 5 minutes of the movie.)John Ireland is very handsome and the movie clips right along...the other two actors--the philosopher turkey farmer especially and the barmaid are very sympathetic characters as well.It is very competently filmed and worth a watch. Leagues above the average B movie. Ignore the actual content of philosophy. I once heard that a good educated British accent reading a phone directory sounds intellectual to the average American; this is the same sort of effect you have in this film...just enjoy the flow of the movie and imagine deep things are being said.RECOMMEND