Just a few short weeks ago "Dillinger" was showing on TCM (its wasn't a version I'd seen before). While it was certainly NOT a true depiction of John Dillinger's life of crime, the actor playing him was mesmerizing! I simply NEVER saw anyone so handsome look so mean! Further, this cold-eyed Adonis was a very capable actor! Later my son reminded me that I had liked his performance in Quetin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" too! OMG - THIS is what the actor who played Joe Cabot had looked like at twenty-six? Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to remember!
I've always enjoyed film noir (crime movies made on a shoestring - that are built around pretty terrific stories). I've since read a lot about Lawrence Tierney (and his acting brothers) and think it a shame his alcohol driven erratic behavior rendered him unmarketable.
My son purchased "Female Jungle" for me.
Already by the early-50's Tierney was getting second and third billing in "B" Movies. In "Female Jungle" he plays a police sergeant with a drinking problem and his performance was stellar! John Carradine also appears in the movie, and as one would expect, was only terrific. I think the stunningly beautiful Jayne Mansfield (just nineteen years old in this film) actually showed great promise. In reading about the making of this movie, I learned that the young lady in the lead had suffered some sort of emotional breakdown during the filming, which necessitated pumping up Mansfield's role. In the closing scene of the movie, that is not Ms. Crowley, but a stand-in, back to the camera. I have to think this must have been one difficult movie to make, when your "star" suffers a breakdown smack in the middle of filming.
It actually is a good story.....a beautiful and successful actress is killed when leaving the Club Can Can (not at all a usual haunt). One suspect has a strong motive, another can't recall what he did with four hours while intoxicated, a third suspect just seems mad at the world, and there is also a chance it was the work of a jealous wife!
Truth be told, if it hadn't been for the very capable acting on the part of Tierney and Carradine, this movie would have been impossible to care about. It was the very professional handling of their roles and dialog that keeps the viewer focused and interested in learning the outcome.
If you enjoy film noir (and watching actors who didn't just "phone it in") you will enjoy watching this movie.
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