cult film freak: VICTOR MATURE WITH DIANA DORS TRUCKING IN 'THE LONG HAUL'

Written by James M. Tate / 8/23/2023 / No comments / british film noir/melodrama , caper , diana dors , fifties , gene anderson , liam redmond , patrick allen , truck , victor mature

VICTOR MATURE WITH DIANA DORS TRUCKING IN 'THE LONG HAUL'

8/23/2023 | No comment

Title: THE LONG HAUL Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2

What begins as a kind of lightweight HELL DRIVERS with token Yankee Victor Mature joining a breakneck trucking company, having to drive as quickly and dangerously as possible, far too quickly turns into an ON THE WATERFRONT of crooked British hauling...

Where a time-worn yet leathery-tough Mature... sprung from Army life and stuck in Liverpool with a wife who wants to stay put (plus a young son)... screws up company mob boss Patrick Allen's caper of robbing his own business: Thus making both the verbal and physical altercations between Mature (with plucky sidekick Liam Redmond) and Allen... equally square-jawed, stubborn and no-nonsense... fairly entertaining Noir...

Diana Dors and Patrick Allen in THE LONG HAUL

But it's full-lipped Diana Dors as this film's femme fatale and vulnerable moll hybrid who makes Mature snap to life, remaining intense and narrowed even when he agrees to help the villain (her abusive lover) in a British crime/heist flick that cruises along at an intentionally slowburn pace...

It's just... with so much exposition about the particular scheme going down... a bit difficult figuring out what exactly the good guy and bad guy are really after — except time spent with Dors, which is a given.

Patrick Allen and Victor Mature in THE LONG HAUL

Diana Dors and Victor Mature in THE LONG HAUL

Liam Redmond and Victor Mature in THE LONG HAUL

Diana Dors with Patrick Allen and Peter Reynolds in THE LONG HAUL

Gene Anderson in THE LONG HAUL

Diana Dors in THE LONG HAUL

Diana Dors and Patrick Allen in THE LONG HAUL

Share This Post :

Tags : british film noir/melodrama , caper , diana dors , fifties , gene anderson , liam redmond , patrick allen , truck , victor mature

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER