The noirest of the noir, Dead Reckoning sees Captain 'Rip' Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) trying to get to the bottom of what got his friend killed, and how it ties in to a murder years ago. He is assisted and hampered by Coral, Lisbeth Scott's tricky femme fatale.
brilliant...
Dead Reckoning is packed full of sparkling dialogue, the majority of it tumbling from Bogart's expert lips through narration, or dead pan on screen. I've only seen Bogart before in Casablanca, and his Rip here seems like a close relation of that film's Rick, the script seems to be tailored to his particular style and delivery. The plot is twisty and turny and people with classic noir goons and villains, with Scott's love-interest/plot catalyst/possible mastermind a good foil for Rip's macho manner.
but...
The final act reveal of the criminal mastermind will shock few people, even those who've only seen or read a couple of pieces of the noir genre (like me).
briefly...
A feast for the eyes and ears thanks to the claustrophic noir stylings and the sharp screenplay, brought to sinister life by Bogart.
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