Hit and Run

N. B. Startpoint= IMPORTANTLY, NO spoilers here; coz has good unexpected twist in its unfolding.

But, ah - a 'romance' (of sorts):

For cineastes, fans of the 'lower graded' film oeuvres, this is worth watching, er, tolerating, not necessarily for another of auteur director Hass' love smitten efforts - although admittedly with good unexpected development: SO; (recommend / try) APPROACH WITH NO SPOILERS to 'enjoy' - but because of some of the oddities that unfolded from the casting (and scripting) of this noirish-like little pot-boiler.

Platinum - (well, in black and white) - blonde (so thought of as contemporary to M. Monroe) Cleo Moore's final film, so also, with as having been for director, auteur Hugo Hass' muse / besotted starring roles run partnership with her too, after a short, but hectic, five year run, as with over eight prior films together.

And point to that here is that, not only was reason Cleo looking as though just going through her paces - she finished with filming completely straight after - but Hugo himself was clearly over- egging the euww factor, as once again cast himself as her to be hubby, despite clearly (embarrassingly) showing his age / their difference! (He was in his fifties, her still her twenties!) Moreover, either deliberately (coz riled up the male gaze audience as showed a chap like him could still clinch a beauty like Cleo ..) or ennui laziness, coz portraying his - own directed AND written - character as an almost permanent five-o-clock shadowed, sweaty, 'soiled' (check his visage throughout) lecher! (Check how Cleo sashays about in her 'home' attire serving coffee to him whilst he lounges about in his brekkies dressing gown!)

In its way, a pity, because despite the tired twist to this sordid little noirish pot-boiler, if you can come to it WITHOUT any foreknowledge = SPOILERS, still it is unexpected and truly keeps you guessing right up until the denouement - literal - reveal. (Well, it did me; but then I just let these fifties 'male gaze' just eye candy wash over me on their way to their run out.)

So, to take you on the way through Cleo's tired looking* and Hugo's leering lechery performances, of cinematic lore interest to note, catch sight of, are such oddities as: diminutive bit part player Pat Grodin** as 'Undertaker', introduced into the plot for seemingly not much reason than only deliver a killer frisson line to do with a female lion tamer; of whom, herself of note, in equally also being shoehorned for otherwise no real apparent reason into the plot***; and him (Pat the 'undertaker' ?!) thus also along with his inferred long 'don't touch' passionless marriage husk, harridan, wife, Julie Mitcham - as who just happened to be famed actor, Robert's sister.

* There is one brief, full face, bright lit shot of her - in the stage of looking knowingly, fearfully, 'caught in the headlights' like - that is surely Hugo's adoring parting appreciation shot, gift to her; it's like an early forties studio portrait rendition and must have looked utterly stunning even for its brief time, on the big screen back in its original cinema run days.

** Better known, if not actually 'seen', as the completely unrecognisably cast titular 'The Man from Planet X' (apparently; who could know under that top costuming and make up there?!)

*** Of whom, from director (writer, auteur etc.) Hass' world, introduces a quite 'hmm' factor, not only from her character's profession and demeanour, but also most notably of cinematic to real life aspects to go 'ah hah' (= as in art imitating life or vice versa?) For was here the debut - and eventually, rare**** - brief appearance of statuesque Dolores Reed (so, yup, the lion tamer = or is that actually, tame(tre)ss?), as whom (although, surely only coincidentally?) had already been romantically involved / linked with Hass; with whom, but there's more: as although she latterly married a 'mechanic': and on by which, now check how Frank (Vince Edwards), as cast by Hass in this as a 'car mechanic', and her in this denouement - well - check out.

**** and for as to why, then check further her odd and tragic short life choices and developments!

Wow!

And it was their last film together. After "Hit and Run," Cleo married a multimillionaire, went into the real estate business, and never looked back. This potboiler also stars Vince Edwards.

Haas, a garage owner named Gus, meets Julie in the club where she works and gives her his card, telling her to call him about a car. You don't have to ask her twice. She shows up soon after. Before you know it, wedding bells.

From the beginning, there's a sexual tension between her and Hugo's helper Frank (Edwards). One night, Frank grabs her and declares his love. Julie is attracted to him, but tells him to leave town. Gus, meanwhile, catches on that there are some sparks.

This story has a little twist to it.

Cleo is stunning, and as usual, the focus is on her. Besides her looks, she had a strong presence. Edwards' looks normally don't appeal to me, but he is quite hunky here. Haas turns in a good performance. He was actually quite well known in his native country of Czechoslovakia.

Some trivia, the woman from the circus, whom Frank meets later in the film was Robert Mitchum's older sister. She retired after getting married.

Hugo Haas almost always played a role himself in the films he made and often he played the character of a more or less naive fool who is cheated on by his beautiful wife who wants to run away with the young guy, or his money .

Frank can't stand Gus's new wife at first (or so it seems) but secretly he is also crazy about Julie, when she finally seems to fall for him after a few advances he hatches a plan to get rid of Gus.

Hugo Haas dared to do something that many bigger film makers would rather avoid, and that is portraying the nastiness and evil of women, here that plot story is less extreme, especially the few twists in the plot towards the end that give this film that extra push that makes it just that little bit better than Hugo's other work.

This story isn't pretty, in fact it's downright scuzzy:

He's old and fat, with a bank account to match his belly. She's young and hungry, with too much peroxide and not enough scruples. Toss in a muscle-bound mechanic with a yen for faux-blonde skanks with alley cat morals and you can be sure that the postman who always rings twice will be heading for the doorbell again.

Welcome to the lower depth digs of Hugo Haas & Cleo Moore, a particularly grimy rung of the film noir inferno. Like most of their collaborations, it plays like a lurid, dog-eared pulp mystery paperback come to life, chock full of murder, mendacity, horny Hungarian junkmen with goulash for brains, Italian studs with sky-high pompadours, and femme fatales with bosoms the size of Tucker Torpedoes.

HIT AND RUN was the final collaboration between writer/director/star/gutter auteur Haas and his slatternly muse Moore. Along for the ride is Vince Edwards as the beefcake buddy who covets his best friend's bride. As with all Haas/Moore noirs, everything they touch turns to pig slop.

All told, it's one of Hugo's better efforts, a compelling, typically feverish riff on the DOUBLE INDEMNITY formula (albeit told from the perspective of the elderly cuckold) festooned with several oddball twists and turns and touches. Well worth seeking out. With Julie Mitchum, Robert's lookalike sister, as an undertaker's sassy wife.

That Hugo Haas was a small gem of a producer/writer/director. "Hit and Run" is the second Haas film I've seen after "Pickup," and while I didn't like this one quite as much as the other one, mostly because this one has the misfortune of not starring Beverly Michaels, it's still a lurid and pulpy good time.

Haas is a really winning screen presence, and you end up rooting for him based on the strength of his charm. It helps that he's always a pretty decent guy who finds himself saddled with a no-good dame, who usually brings along with her some other bohunk who wants to do him harm. Cleo Moore is said dame in this one, and if she's not exactly a femme fatale, she also doesn't do much to stop the grisly proceedings carried out by said bohunk, played here by the smoldering Vince Edwards. Edwards comes across as a dim bulb, but good grief did that dude drip with sex, and the scenes with him and Moore have a real erotic charge.

"Hit and Run" is my favorite kind of noir, because it's cheap and tawdry. It also has a sense of humor, and I think one of the things I like best about Haas is that he never took himself or his films too seriously. That gives them a unique playfulness that sets them apart from other films of their kind.

Grade: A-