Written by / 3/04/2023 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

STANLEY BAKER AND LAURENCE HARVEY IN 'THE GOOD DIE YOUNG'

Title: THE GOOD DIE YOUNG Year: 1954 Rating: ***1/2

Lewis Gilbert's London-set Noir/Melodrama would lack some of the Melodrama without the two Americans countering the two Englishmen: although Stanley Baker's working-class boxer does get theatrical outside the ring, and, staring with four men in a car, guns drawn, about to commit a robbery, we experience backstories of each... 

John Ireland's a broke, whiny GI married to cheating movie star Gloria Grahame — a mismatched couple to begin with — while Richard Basehart has pregnant Joan Collins and a clingy mother-in-law, attempting suicide when they attempt flying back overseas: So one American needs airfare while the other needs a divorce... making both weak candidates for crime, saving the best for last... 

Laurence Harvey, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland in The Good Die Young

And the only character lacking the title's idealistic GOOD is charmingly deceptive weasel Laurence Harvey, who... married to a rich, glamorous artist while trying to squeeze inheritance out a very living father after wifey kills his allowance... makes a fantastically cunning, unashamedly hedonistic, cruel and cutthroat manipulator, especially towards Baker's crippled boxer (who lost his hand), needing cash the most...

Basically the two polar opposite Brits would have created a tighter, edgier tale while the highly anticipated postal-truck heist leads to the kind of collective action the story had been begging for. Making one forgive all the soap operatic fluff that's still pretty entertaining. As soaps can often be. 

Thomas Gallagher, Leslie Dwyer and Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Leslie Dwyer with Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young
Laurence Harvey in The Good Die Young
Richard Basehart and Joan Collins in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker in The Good Die Young with a miscast Rene Ray
Richard Basehart and Laurence Harvey in The Good Die Young
Stanley Baker and Richard Basehart in The Good Die Young
Gloria Grahame in The Good Die Young
The Good Die Young movie poster

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT WAGNER IN THE OBSCURE GOLF PRO CURIO 'BANNING'

Robert Wagner in BANNING Year: 1967 Rating: **** The extremely elusive and rare BANNING is a 1967 film about former golf pro Robert Wagner a...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "I don't know what it is, but it's yoga." Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE HEROIN BUSTERS 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE