Hell Bound

This is an odd movie. The plot resembles of that of "The Killing" from 1956 (no spoilers from me, folks!), but with a train yard instead of and airport and an inexplicable amount of random foot fetishism scenes.

The location shots of the seedy, ugly industrial underbelly of the Port of Los Angeles, filled with clanging freighters, trains, cranes, derricks, busted lamps, bridges, weedy open areas, parking lots, and seedy neon streets are spectacular -- beautifully filmed in high-noir style, and almost documentary in their precision. The trolley graveyard, Southern Pacific freight yard, and piles of scrap metal are literally priceless as settings. For anyone seeking great, sharp-focus, high-contrast footage of the industrial junk piles in Los Angeles in 1957, this is valuable footage.

The plot is ... a plot (see "the Killing") and the actors are competent, but the script is thin, so there are lots of unvoiced action scenes and facial dead-pan reaction shots that last too long. The repetitious, silent fetish scenes of women's feet, both in and out of shoes, also lack charm. And, inexplicably, several minutes are wasted on a pointless strip tease act right out of a Sack Entertainment exploitation film. The director was probably getting off on the high sleaze-quotient, but i found it awkward and childish.

I'm glad i saw this film, but i didn't really like it all that much.

As a previous reviewer remarked elements of The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing are present in Hell Bound. I would my favorite noir film Kansas City Confidential to that list. It's the story of a perfect caper at least on paper and on film it is. John Russell in selling the idea to smuggle a fortune in narcotics actually films a dry run of it with actors and sells it to his money guy Dehl Berti.

Unfortunately he should have stuck with the actors for the real deal. Russell is a brutal man and he browbeats a pair to assist in the heist. Their roles don't quite go according to script.

Also unplanned is the money man's moll who plays the part of a nurse falls for the ambulance driver who was to be their patsy. June Blair later to join the Nelson household marrying David is the moll and Stuart Whitman is the ambulance driver. That's Russell's doing as well.

However Russell himself is a fascinating portrait in evil. Even with big plot holes he makes you want to watch this film. The end he comes to is also quite original.

Watch this one for John Russell.

Some great staging in that final sequence. Now I know what happens to old tram cars, including about every piece of scrap metal in LA. Apparently, port LA is not a good place to rest up, however, so I'll not be looking to vacation there. Anyway, looks like this fairly nifty little heist film was inspired by Kubrick's brilliant robbery feature The Killing (1956). Both focus on elaborate heists and the frailties of the gang involved. Here it's mastermind Russell, along with a corrupt health inspector, a heroin junkie, and an unwitting ambulance driver, plus a load of shipboard narcotics waiting to be stolen. But please, oh please, tell me that phony nurse June Blair will take on a phony patient, namely me. She's really luscious, and now I see why super-wholesome Ozzie & Harriet's number one son David married her, Playboy centerfold or not. I guess when she drops a shoe, it means action time for the lucky guy.

Anyhow, it's more a movie of parts than a suspenseful whole. The narrative does tend to meander some despite the riveting premise. Surprisingly, the focus is more on Russell and what he'll do next, than on the caper itself. But colorful characters and good acting bridge over the narrative. And for sure, gimlet-eyed Russell does get to stare down everybody in sight, and makes one hunky gang leader. And that's just a year or two before he went straight and became sheriff of Laramie (Lawman). Though obscure by any light, the film's still a decent little crime feature that shows off once more the minor glories of the American B-movie.

Taut and Tight Little "Heist" Movie with Heavy Film-Noir Influences, some Dire and Desperate Characters, Fine Acting, a Quick Violence-Prone Plot, and an Ending that is Visually and Viscerally Stunning.

Stone-Faced John Russell is in Full Sadistic "Bully" Mode as, He Recruits Men and Women with Varying Degrees of Desperation and Greed.

Russell Uses Physical Persecution Beating and Slapping People Around Non-Stop Preys on Drug-Addicts to "Mastermind" a Heist of Contraband (Drugs) Most always Referred to in the "Code-Enforcement" Days as "Stuff".

It's Sleazy, both in Personnel and Locations, The Docks, Burlesque, and Minimalist Rooming-Boards. Also Featuring a Pre-Tarantino "Foot-Fetish" Running Throughout.

June Blair (Playmate 1957), Shows a Bit More than Her Feet Here in the Form of Cleavage and Lingerie.

A Good Supporting Cast of...Stuart Whitman, Margo Woode, and Frank Fenton, among Others,

Make for a Solid, Disturbing, Cutting-Edge, Mid-50's Crime Noir that has High-Lights Galore for those that Like Their High-Lights Among the Low-Light Digs and Brutal Crime-Gang Domination Displays.

About as Violent and Nasty as it Gets in the Mid-50's.

The Ending Scene in the Rail-Yard is Unforgettable and Brings this Little Hidden-Gem to a Crashing and Crushing Conclusion.

A Must-See for Noir and Crime Buffs...For Others it's...

Worth a Watch.

In HELL BOUND, John Russell stars as Jordan, the brains behind a big cargo heist, in which a fortune in drugs is at stake.

Much of the film's running time involves the logistics and preparation for the crime, including the gathering of the crooks to pull it off.

All seems well, until the weakness, addictions, and folly of the team threaten to ruin the whole operation.

Russell is very convincing in his driven, downright wicked role. He's the black heart of the story, and delivers an unflinchingly ruthless performance. June Blair is also good as Paula, the woman that Jordan needs for his plot, as is Stuart Whitman as the man who falls in love with Paula, causing a moral dilemma.

This is a tense crime thriller with a wonderful chase-through-a-scrapyard finale...