Dead Reckoning (1947)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Gerald Drayson Adams (story) and
Sidney Biddell (story) ...

Release Date:

16 January 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He Doesn't Trust Anyone . . . especially Women !

Plot:

A soldier runs away rather than receive the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate, and love and death soon follow.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | WWII | Gambling | Medal Of Honor | Bartender

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Capt. 'Rip' Murdock
Lizabeth Scott	...	'Dusty' Chandler
Morris Carnovsky	...	Martinelli
Charles Cane	...	Lt. Kincaid
William Prince	...	Sgt. Johnny Drake
Marvin Miller	...	Krause
Wallace Ford	...	McGee
James Bell	...	Father Logan
George Chandler	...	Louis Ord

Also Known As:

John Cromwell's Dead Reckoning (UK) (complete title) (USA) (copyright title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1947) | Finland:K-16 (1948) | Norway:16 (1947) | USA:Approved (PCA #11959) | Australia:PG | UK:U | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Penn Station, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Re-released in 1955, as a double-feature with I Am the Law (1938).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In one scene, Martinelli asks Murdock if he's been around, and Murdock says, "East St. Louis is around enough." Several other times, Murdock talks about his pre-war job, owning a string of taxis in St. Louis. East St. Louis and St. Louis are two different cities; East St. Louis is in Illinois, St. Louis in Missouri. Why would Murdock answer that he's "been around" in East St. Louis if his cabs were in St. Louis?

Quotes:

Captain Warren 'Rip' Murdock: Johnny, why don't you get rid of the grief you got for that blonde, whoever she is? Every mile we go, you sweat worse with the same pain. Didn't I tell you all females are the same with their faces washed?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Soundtrack:

EITHER IT'S LOVE OR IT ISN'T

Avenging A Pal

Humphrey Bogart and William Prince should be psyching themselves up for the big moment of their lives in Dead Reckoning. Bogey's put Prince up for the Congressional Medal of Honor. But Prince doesn't react to that quite the way one would expect. He jumps the train in Philadelphia on the way to Washington, DC and disappears and Bogey starts his own hunt for him and an explanation.

The trail leads to Prince's hometown and Bogey learns that Prince was fleeing a murder rap when he joined the service. There's a girl involved to, Lizabeth Scott who Columbia was trying to build up into their version of Lauren Bacall. Of course the best way to do that was team her with Humphrey Bogart. Prince also winds up dead and Bogey's really on a mission now.

Dead Reckoning borrows very heavily from The Maltese Falcon in terms of Bogart's character motivation. He was avenging a partner, admittedly one he wasn't crazy about, in The Maltese Falcon. Here he's looking for answers and vengeance on whoever might have murdered his war time buddy. That was a common theme in a lot of post World War II films. The audience, heavily populated with veterans, could understand Bogart's motivation back then easily.

And because Humphrey Bogart is such a skilled player, today's audience can appreciate it. Dead Reckoning is not the best of Humphrey Bogart's films, but it's still entertaining.

By the way, the ending confrontation is also out of The Maltese Falcon, though a bit more violent.