Undertow (1949)

A very nice surprise,  20 July 2021

Having returned to Chicago, Tony Reagan (Scott Brady) is accused of murdering a wealthy, powerful man who happens to be his fiance’s uncle.  Injured and with the police hot on his trail, Reagan has few places to turn.  He eventually seeks the assistance of a woman he hardly knows.  He met her the previous day on the flight to Chicago.  With her help, Reagan’s out to clear his name.

Undertow is a neat little film noir that, until last night, I had never heard of.  I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it.  The story has a lot of suspense that builds throughout.  There may have been a few predictable bits in the plot (like the murderer’s ID) and some big coincidences (like a friendly cop who agrees to help), but the journey is so much fun it hardly mattered.  Director William Castle (yes, that William Castle) proves that he could do more than churn out sensational schlock.  His pacing in Undertow is about perfect.  The film also looks phenomenal.  Cinematographer Irving Glassberg lensed a movie that looks far better than it has a right to.  But, then again, I seem to say that about a lot of the Universal B picture output from the 40s.  Finally, I enjoyed the exterior 40s-era footage.  Whether it was the airport, the plane, or downtown Chicago,  it was awesome stuff. 

I have no complaints as far as the acting goes.  Generally, I'm not much of a fan of Scott Brady.  There’s just something about him that puts me off.  Here, however, I thought his performance was more than adequate.  As for co-star Peggy Dow - what a revelation!  Considering this was her first film role, she was amazing.  Dow plays the sweet, innocent, cute, trusting, fresh-faced, all-American girl about as well as anyone I’ve ever seen.  Looking over her filmography, I’m saddened to see she only made nine films.  I’m going to make it my mission to see as many of these as I can.  The rest of the supporting cast - John Russell, Dorothy Hart, Bruce Bennett - are equally strong.  Finally, the film features a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment from a fresh-faced Roc (with no k) Hudson.  

Overall, a nice little film that I’m happy to have stumbled upon.  Undertow gives me hope as I continue my journey through some of these smaller, lesser known film noirs.

7/10