Hell on Frisco Bay *** (1955, Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, Joanne Dru) – Classic Movie Review 7268

Director Frank Tuttle’s 1955 thriller Hell on Frisco Bay tells the hard-boiled police story of ex-cop Steve Rollins (Alan Ladd), framed for manslaughter, who is released on parole after five years in prison and wants to find the real killer Joe Lye (Paul Stewart) while seeking revenge on the ruthless San Francisco gangster Victor Amato (Edward G Robinson) who set him up.

This fine film noir crime thriller is more of the Thirties or Forties than the Fifties, and none the worse for that. The excellent cast keep it fizzing along, with Robinson particularly impressive in a part tailor-made for him and Stewart not far behind as his wicked sidekick. Paul Dru chews the scenery as Ladd’s wife, Marcia. Jayne Mansfield has a walkon as a blonde woman.

Sydney Boehm and Martin Rackin’s useful screenplay is based on a novel by William P McGivern, serialised in Collier’s magazine from April 15 to May 13 1955.

Hell on Frisco Bay is shot by John F Seitz in CinemaScope and Warnercolor, and made for Ladd’s  production company, Jaguar, which bought the film rights in August 1954. There is an early Hollywood appearance by Australian actor Rod Taylor in a role as John Brodie Evans written for him by Martin Rackin, who worked with him on Long John Silver (1954).

Also in the cast are William Demarest, Fay Wray, Perry Lopez, Nestor Paiva, Renata Vanni, Stanley Adams, Willis Bouchey, Peter Hanson, Anthony Caruso, George J Lewis, Tina Carver, Peter J Votrian, Mae Marsh and Voltaire Perkins.

Ladd hired Frank Tuttle to direct. In 1942 Tuttle cast Ladd in the film that made him a star, This Gun for Hire. Much shooting was done at Fisherman’s Wharf and San Francisco Bay.

Stuntman Louis Tomei was killed while doubling for Robinson in the climactic fight scene on a motorboat.

Warner Bros provide the finance after their 1954 success with the Ladd starrer Drum Beat.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7268

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