Cornered (1945)

• Director
  • Edward Dmytryk
• Writers
  • John Paxton(screenplay)
  • John Wexley(story and adaptation)
  • Ben Hecht(uncredited)
• Stars
  • Dick Powell
  • Walter Slezak
  • Micheline Cheirel

  Canadian WW II pilot Gerard (Dick Powell) intends to track down and kill collaborationist Marcel Jarne, the man responsible for the wartime death of Gerard's French wife. The trouble is, Jarne has never been effectively identified by the authorities -- and in fact could be just about anyone whom Gerard meets. Following the trail of evidence to Buenos Aires, Gerard's strongarm methods run afoul not only of the Argentine authorities, but also of a pro-French underground movement which also wants to bring the villain to justice. Weaselly Incza (Walter Slezak) plays all sides down the middle until he too is ruthlessly rubbed out by the bad guy. From start to finish, Cornered is a superb thriller, directed with graphic ingenuity and economy -- and with a dash of endearingly naïve left-leaning politicizing. (With Edward Dmytryk as director, how could it be otherwise?) Avoid at all costs the computer-colored version of this beautifully photographed black-and-white film.