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him. Gregg Warren, the
Mechanical Man, is in love with Angel Face, and thinks he can bait the killer for Johnny. This sense of honor, and his father's murder, makes clear to Johnny what he really holds valuable in his life. As Gregg Warren performs in the window, Angel Face falsely declares her love for him, causing the Mechanical Man to shed a tear. Hayes Stewart sees that he is indeed a real man and shoots, revealing his hideout. Stewart pistol-whips Stubby. Johnny Kelly goes after Stewart and, after a chase along an elevated railroad track and a fight, Stewart is electrocuted on the live rail and falls to his death. Johnny considers what has happened this eventful night, re-evaluates his priorities in life, and is reconciled with his wife. The mysterious Sgt. Joe has disappeared.
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magazine gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Production and direction loses itself occasionally in stretching for mood and nuances, whereas a straightline cops-and-robbers action flavor would have been more appropriate. Same flaw is found in the Steve Fisher screen original...John L. Russell's
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Stewart takes Lydia and Stubby and escapes but can't get far because of the police closing in. He shoots Lydia dead in front of the nightclub window where the
Mechanical Man is performing. He stays close by, unsure if the Mechanical Man is a real man or an automaton; if he is real he intends to kill
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is an uneven crime drama, one that contains enough good elements that it's frustrating the film as a whole is not better. The chief culprit is, as so often, the screenplay, which starts out promisingly. Gig Young's character seems to be one that is fairly complex, a cop who is dissatisfied with his
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Johnny and Sgt. Joe answer a call for a woman having a baby and Johnny performs the delivery; they also answer a call for an illegal gambling game on the street, arresting the ringleader and giving the money back to the men who have been hoodwinked. After each call, Sgt. Joe lays out another bit of
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lot in life and could fall prey to temptation. Unfortunately, the character is not developed sufficiently beyond that, which is also the case with the Wally
Cassell "mechanical man" character; he, too, shows promise that goes unfulfilled, although the sheer strangeness of his job does fascinate.
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Officer Johnny Kelly is disillusioned with his job which he took to please his father, and writes a letter of resignation which he intends to hand in at the end of his shift. He calls Penrod Biddel to accept an employment offer that the lawyer had made, and agrees to meet him later that evening.
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As the night progresses, Johnny visits Angel Face to re-affirm their plans to go away. He also meets with the lawyer Penrod Biddel who asks Johnny to pick up Hayes
Stewart and leave him across the state line for the
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Police to arrest and incarcerate. Johnny says 'no' to this but changes his mind when Biddel tells him that Johnny's brother 'Stubby' (
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Film review, December 31, 1952. Last accessed: November 15, 2023.
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as the opening film of a 30 movie retrospective of restored
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423:Philip L. Boddy as Maitre d'Hotel
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1135:1953 crime drama films
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806:A Desperate Adventure
786:Orphans of the Street
1175:1950s American films
1170:Films set in Chicago
966:Gangway for Tomorrow
946:Moonlight Masquerade
766:Rhythm in the Clouds
497:Museum of Modern Art
270:by John L. Russell.
227:is a 1953 American
1036:Angel on the Amazon
856:Calling All Marines
846:Thou Shalt Not Kill
776:Outside of Paradise
1056:Hit Parade of 1951
986:Music in Manhattan
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896:Hit Parade of 1941
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701:Films directed by
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1026:I, Jane Doe
826:Circus Girl
394:Otto Hulett
376:Chill Wills
358:Mala Powers
312:Chill Wills
308:Otto Hulett
280:Mala Powers
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1130:1953 films
1124:Categories
849:(1939)
526:References
415:Tom Poston
232:crime film
200:90 minutes
184:1953-06-12
149:Production
124:Fred Allen
1155:Film noir
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320:Indiana
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