Million Dollar Weekend

Pretty good noirish crime drama despite its obscurity. Seems businessman Nicholas (Raymond) is fleeing the city from something unknown to us. Also fleeing is unhappy Cynthia (Massen) who's being blackmailed by slimy Alan (Lederer) for killing her husband. Together they all meet on a commercial flight to Honolulu where Cynthia inveigles Nicholas to help her fend off the snarky Alan. So how will this star-crossed meeting turn out, especially with all the hidden interests. (I wish IMDB's Plot Summary hadn't disclosed Alan's secret for fleeing his job since that's a key part of the suspense.)

There's no attempt to charm the audience Hollywood style since the principals hardly crack a smile the whole way through. Massen's Cynthia, in particular, has to remain dour the whole way, hardly the typical leading lady demeanor. Nonetheless, her talent registers. Maybe stealing the show is Lederer's Alan who's about as slimy and dislikable as they come. I kept hoping his smirking good looks would get permanently cratered at some point.

As producer, director, and male lead, it looks like actor Raymond was following along path of actor Robert Montgomery who turned impresario several years earlier with Lady In The Lake (1946) and Ride The Pink Horse (1947). However, given Nicholas's dour personality, Raymond doesn't use his executive standing to elevate himself.

Anyway, don't look for a lot of action except for a scenic car chase and brief fisticuffs. The flick's really more about character and fate (the meet-ups) than cops and atmosphere especially with the scenic Hawaiian locations. Likely, the 72-minutes amounts to too much of a downer to ever gain a following. Nonetheless, the obscure production manages to carve out an oddball impact of its own.