Tonight's Movie: The Enforcer (1951) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

I first saw Humphrey Bogart in THE ENFORCER (1951) last year at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs.

I absolutely loved the movie but didn't have time to review it at that point, so I was delighted to revisit the the film thanks to Kino Lorber's Dark Side of Cinema XXII collection.

I must have read about THE ENFORCER in books on Bogart once upon a time, but nothing seems to have stuck in my mind, and I thus first saw this movie completely "cold." It proved to be a very happy experience, and the film is so good it remained completely engrossing viewing it a second time 10 months later.

Bogart plays District Attorney Martin Ferguson, who's on the verge of convicting a killer named Mendoza (Everett Sloane) when Mendoza's confederate, Rico (Ted de Corsia), turns state's evidence.

Rico is terrified, and with good reason, as hit men (including one played by Bob Steele) are after him.

Rico does die near the outset of the film, and Ferguson is facing the prospect of having to let Mendoza walk free due to the lack of enough evidence for a conviction. Ferguson and Police Captain Frank Nelson (Roy Roberts) spend hours combing through evidence books and interview tapes desperately searching for something else which might be enough to keep Mendoza in prison and take him to trial.

Directors Bretaigne Windust and the uncredited Raoul Walsh keep the story moving forward at a rapid pace for all of its 87 minutes, building to an exciting climax.

The movie at times seems to have as many flashbacks as THE LOCKET (1946), but it works very well thanks to Martin Racklin's well-constructed and engrossing screenplay. I even wondered if perhaps Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW (1963) drew any inspiration from this film, as far as the use of flashbacks to explain a police investigation.

One of the interesting aspects of the film is that terms such as "contract" and "hit man" were apparently new concepts mid century, with the police initially confused by these references.

Bogart plays a fairly button-down, "by the book" character, but his charisma does a great deal to maintain interest. I especially enjoyed Bogart's relationship with Roy Roberts, who's essentially repeating his police detective character from HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948); they share a large number of scenes, and it's enjoyable watching these two pros discussing their case.

I also especially enjoyed King Donovan as a police sergeant. Susan Cabot and Patricia Joiner play two young women whose lives are in danger. The cast includes many more interesting faces including Zero Mostel, Lawrence (Michael) Tolan, Don Beddoe, Tito Vuolo, John Maxwell, Ralph Dunn, John Kellogg, Jack Lambert, and more.

The movie was filmed in atmospheric black and white by Robert Burks.

Kino Lorber's good-looking Blu-ray print is from an HD master of a 4K scan.

THE ENFORCER was previously available on DVD and Blu-ray from the now-defunct Olive Films. Happily Kino Lorber has now reissued several of Olive's releases, including THE ENFORCER, and in some cases also included new commentary tracks.

THE ENFORCER has a commentary track by Alan K. Rode, who in a nice "full circle" connection is also the producer and host of the Arthur Lyons Festival, where I first saw the movie!

This set, which also contains the previously reviewed THE SCARLET HOUR (1956) and PLUNDER ROAD (1957), is highly enjoyable and very much recommended.

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