Tonight's Movie: Highway Dragnet (1954) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Yesterday was Richard Conte's birthday, so it was a particularly good weekend to watch him in the crime film HIGHWAY DRAGNET (1954).

HIGHWAY DRAGNET was just released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber. I first saw the movie streaming on Netflix back in 2011, when Netflix had a far greater variety of older films available; I really wanted to see it again and so was delighted when I learned it would be released by Kino Lorber.

This film, which was Roger Corman's first co-producing credit -- he also cowrote the story -- admittedly isn't the world's greatest movie, yet at the same time it's a heck of a lot of fun. Boring it ain't; it's a zippy 70 minutes which I watched with a kind of glee, totally enjoying the lead actors and the various situations as they unfolded. (When Iris Adrian, as a waitress who clearly prefers an empty restaurant, hurled menus onto a table I actually laughed out loud.) Add in superb location shooting, and this is definitely my kind of movie.

Conte plays Jim Henry, who's just left the military after service in Korea. He's picked up in a bar by former model (Mary Beth Hughes); there's a fadeout so we don't know what happens, but Jim is arrested the next day for her murder by strangulation.

The disbelieving Jim's alibi can't be located, and with Detective Joe White Eagle (Reed Hadley) convinced Jim did the deed, despite Jim's honorable military record, Jim decides to make a break for it. He manages to escape and eventually hitches a ride with Mrs. Cummings (the always-great Joan Bennett), a photographer, and her model Susan (Wanda Hendrix).

Mrs. Cummings and Susan soon realize they have a problem on their hands, what with newspapers blaring headlines about the "Strap Murderer." But we, like Susan, increasingly sense that Jim truly is just a nice guy in a bad situation...and what did happen to Mrs. Cummings' missing dog leash, anyway?

It may feel just a bit as though the still-gorgeous Bennett is slumming in this one -- and I think she knew it -- but she's still grand fun as the calculating, short-tempered photographer. Along with her jaded portrayal, I love her dress with its billowing skirt; she must have had petticoats underneath. She's quite the glamorous traveler, complete with jewelry, while young Susan is always dressed down. Changing generational attitudes towards dressing up for travel captured on film?

I simply like Conte, who is in any number of films I really enjoy, and I also admire Wanda Hendrix, as I wrote about here. This role is far less complex than some Hendrix played, but she's appealing as the quick-witted Susan.

The majority of the film was shot outdoors on location, and those locations really help make the movie as enjoyable as it is. Initially there's stock footage of old-time Las Vegas, followed by terrific shots of the cast at the Apple Valley Inn. There's more about the Apple Valley Inn in my original review and in an illustrated post at Paradise Leased; it was also seen in FOXFIRE (1955) and THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW (1955). I clearly need to pay it a visit someday.

I don't know if the agricultural inspection station was real or created for the movie; I'm guessing it was staged in the desert closer to L.A. rather than traveling all the way to the Nevada border. There's also some fascinating filming in a flooded-out home at the Salton Sea. It's a unique choice which adds a lot to the movie.

The movie was directed by Nathan Juran and photographed in black and white by John Martin. The supporting cast includes Frank Jenks, Harry Harvey, House Peters Jr., Joseph Crehan, and Tom Hubbard.

The print and sound are excellent. (The strong wind on location impacts the sound in a couple of scenes but they didn't bother to loop them; it sounds authentic, at least!) The disc includes half a dozen trailers for film noir titles which are also available from Kino Lorber. There are no additional extras.

While HIGHWAY DRAGNET wouldn't be the right film for someone looking for a top-drawer film noir classic, its interesting imperfections combined with a good cast and stellar locations make it a delight for the right audience. I've happily watched it twice and will do so again in the future thanks to Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.