The Walking Target

This one has most of the crime film cliches - good girl, bad girl, double crosses, cocky cop, illogical choices - but for all of its averageness, it is actually an entertaining film. Pretty good pacing and a quick watch, and some really odd, fun little moments. High art it isn't, but if you enjoy old crime movies with a bit of melodrama, it is worth your time. I enjoyed it.

Ron Foster is "Nick", fresh out of jail for robbery, and the loot has never been found. That's pretty much the opening line, said by the prison warden, as he releases Nick back to the world. and hot on his trail is Detective Brodney (Harp McGuire). and the mob. and the people he thinks are his friends. And Joan Evans is "Gail"... who may or may not be an innocent bystander. Evans gets top billing in the cast list, so she must be pretty important to the plot. Written by Stephen Kandel. He wrote almost exclusively for television, and this. and a couple films earlier in his career. Directed by Edward Cahn, for United Artists, towards the end of his career... only worked a couple more years after this. The "fist fights" are just terrible. so fake. The story itself is pretty good, the acting is pretty good. Picture and sound quality are great. entertaining enough.

The programmer's neither good nor bad, just a familiar storyline given undistinguished treatment. Nick and two buddies rob an armored car, but the buddies are killed in the robbery. Now Nick's out of prison, intent on retrieving the loot he's hidden. Trouble is both a mobster and the cops are watching. Meanwhile, he's got a sexy blonde girlfriend (Anders) who's double-crossing him with his so-called friend Dave (Christopher). Sound familiar. Yeah, old film fans have probably seen its variation a hundred times.

For a budget production, the effort's competently done. Foster in the lead does his best, but doesn't convey much presence. The cast is distinguished by noir villain Berry Kroeger as the mobster, and Joan Evans as good girl Gail. In fact, Evans had a very promising studio career in the early 50's that unfortunately didn't endure. Looks like this was her last feature-length appearance. I wish there were something outstanding, good or bad, to comment on, but there isn't, unless it's movie vet Fawcett (Packy) who's about as ravaged-looking an old duffer I've seen. All in all, the 70-minutes remains a watchable, but highly unremarkable crime drama that's probably forgotten 5-minutes later.

"The Walking Target" is a cheaply made crime film starring a cast of mostly unknown actors of the day. Despite this, it turns out to be very watchable and good for what it is.

Nick (Ron Foster) has been in prison for sometime for his part in a robbery that netted nearly a quarter of a million dollars! What makes this REALLY interesting is that now that his sentence is up, he could always return and get the loot, as no one living knows where it is. However, on his trail throughout the film are cops as well as Nick's 'friends', who would just as soon kill him. Where does all this go? Watch the film..

The acting is good, the script is good. What isn't good are a couple fight scenes, where in both cases, the gang leader just stands there as his men tangle with Nick. And, when Nick beats them up, the boss just stands there! The same goes with Nick's lady friend late in the film....just standing there as Nick fights to the death....doing and saying nothing!! A very bad cliche but an otherwise well made film.

Nick Harbin (Ron Foster) gets out of prison after a five year stretch. When he tries to reconnect with his old comrades, he finds that things have changed quite a bit while he was gone. No one seems interested in him, other than to get to the big money he stole.

A flashback sequence shows us that Nick actually has a conscience, and wants to make amends for the tragic event that haunts him. Now, hounded by both the cops and the press, with his old cronies converging on him, Nick has one last chance at redemption.

THE WALKING TARGET is another entertaining, hard-boiled crime thriller. Foster is quite believable in his role. Merry Anders co-stars as Nick's cheating girlfriend, and Joan Evans is the woman of Nick's dreams, the one who got away...