Bodyguard (1948 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Bodyguard''''' is a 1948 American [[film noir]] directed by [[Richard Fleischer]] and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex. It is based on a story written by George W. George and [[Robert Altman]]. The drama features [[Lawrence Tierney]] and, in her final screen appearance, [[Priscilla Lane]]. |
'''''Bodyguard''''' is a 1948 American [[film noir]] directed by [[Richard Fleischer]] and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex. It is based on a story written by George W. George and [[Robert Altman]]. The drama features [[Lawrence Tierney]] and, in her final screen appearance, [[Priscilla Lane]]. |
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==Plot== |
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Mike Carter (Tierney) is forced to resign from the Los Angeles Police Department after breaking some rules and he ends up becoming a bodyguard to wealthy Eugenia Dyson ([[Elisabeth Risdon]]). Before long, Carter has been accused of murder and is being hunted by his former fellow officers. Doris Brewster (Lane), his fiancée and a file clerk in the police department, believes he is innocent, and she is instrumental in cornering the actual killer. |
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After being put on suspension at the LAPD, Mike Carter punches his lieutenant and quits in disgust. A few days later, at a baseball game, he is approached by Fred Dyson, who wants to hire Carter as a bodyguard for his aunt, Jean Dyson, a widow and head of Continental Meat Packing Corp. Carter refuses. Later, at his apartment, an envelope is slipped under the door with $2000 in it. Carter rushes out, but the person who did it is already gone. |
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Carson drives to the Dyson mansion in Pasadena, where he pushes his way in and, after meeting the members of the household, finds Mrs. Dyson is uninterested in having a bodyguard. Carter returns the money to Fred, but just as he is leaving, someone shoots at Mrs. Dyson but gets away. After she goes to bed, Fred convinces Carter to stay, just for the night, and Carter takes back the money. |
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At 3:45 am, Carter catches Mrs. Dyson's secretary, Connie, digging the bullets out of the wall, then sees Mrs. Dyson drive away. He follows her car to the downtown Los Angeles warehouse district, where he is hit on the head, waking up later in his car, with the lieutenant shot dead beside him, on the railroad tracks with a train bearing down. Carter barely gets out in time. |
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Realizing he is being framed for the lieutenant's murder, he asks his fiancee, Doris, who is the lieutenant's secretary, to find out all she can about the cases the lieutenant was working on. She drives him to the Dyson home; finding Jean not at home he goes to tbe plant; she is not there either. |
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In the info on lieutenant Bordon's cases, one stands out, the death of an inspector at the Continental Meat Packing plant. Back at the Dyson mansion, Carter confronts Mrs. Dyson about her movements that morning. After she gives him a plausible explanation, he calls Doris and asks her to bring him more information on the inspector's death. He then talks to the dead man's brother, who recognizes Carter as being wanted by the police. Carter discovers evidence that the inspector's sight was not as faulty as claimed in the accident report. |
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Narrowly avoiding arrest checking out the testimony of the optometrist at his office, Carter next tries to find information at the glasses manufacturer; it's after hours so he breaks in. Finding the information he needs, he calls the captain and tells him to meet him at the Dyson home. Meanwhile, at the plant, where she went despite Carter telling her not to, Doris spies on Fred and Fenton, the supervisor. |
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At the mansion, Carter confronts Mrs. Dyson, who reveals that Freddie thinks Fenton has been tampering with the meat and that the inspector was murdered to cover it up. Carter tells her he believes Fred is in with Fenton on the fraud. Discovering Doris is in danger at the plant, Carter steals the police car and heads to the plant. |
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At the plant, Fred, after revealing how he will frame Fenton for the deaths and exonerate himself, shoots Fenton dead. Carter arrives just as Fred is about to shoot Doris and, after Feed runs out of bullets, fights with and knocks out Fred. The police arrive and take both Carter and Fred into custody. The next scene shows the newlywed Mr. & Mrs. Mike Carter heading off for their honeymoon in a police cruiser. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 02:37, 19 July 2020
| Bodyguard | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | |
| Produced by | Sid Rogell |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
| Edited by | Elmo Williams |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 62 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Bodyguard is a 1948 American film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex. It is based on a story written by George W. George and Robert Altman. The drama features Lawrence Tierney and, in her final screen appearance, Priscilla Lane.
Plot
After being put on suspension at the LAPD, Mike Carter punches his lieutenant and quits in disgust. A few days later, at a baseball game, he is approached by Fred Dyson, who wants to hire Carter as a bodyguard for his aunt, Jean Dyson, a widow and head of Continental Meat Packing Corp. Carter refuses. Later, at his apartment, an envelope is slipped under the door with $2000 in it. Carter rushes out, but the person who did it is already gone.
Carson drives to the Dyson mansion in Pasadena, where he pushes his way in and, after meeting the members of the household, finds Mrs. Dyson is uninterested in having a bodyguard. Carter returns the money to Fred, but just as he is leaving, someone shoots at Mrs. Dyson but gets away. After she goes to bed, Fred convinces Carter to stay, just for the night, and Carter takes back the money.
At 3:45 am, Carter catches Mrs. Dyson's secretary, Connie, digging the bullets out of the wall, then sees Mrs. Dyson drive away. He follows her car to the downtown Los Angeles warehouse district, where he is hit on the head, waking up later in his car, with the lieutenant shot dead beside him, on the railroad tracks with a train bearing down. Carter barely gets out in time.
Realizing he is being framed for the lieutenant's murder, he asks his fiancee, Doris, who is the lieutenant's secretary, to find out all she can about the cases the lieutenant was working on. She drives him to the Dyson home; finding Jean not at home he goes to tbe plant; she is not there either.
In the info on lieutenant Bordon's cases, one stands out, the death of an inspector at the Continental Meat Packing plant. Back at the Dyson mansion, Carter confronts Mrs. Dyson about her movements that morning. After she gives him a plausible explanation, he calls Doris and asks her to bring him more information on the inspector's death. He then talks to the dead man's brother, who recognizes Carter as being wanted by the police. Carter discovers evidence that the inspector's sight was not as faulty as claimed in the accident report.
Narrowly avoiding arrest checking out the testimony of the optometrist at his office, Carter next tries to find information at the glasses manufacturer; it's after hours so he breaks in. Finding the information he needs, he calls the captain and tells him to meet him at the Dyson home. Meanwhile, at the plant, where she went despite Carter telling her not to, Doris spies on Fred and Fenton, the supervisor.
At the mansion, Carter confronts Mrs. Dyson, who reveals that Freddie thinks Fenton has been tampering with the meat and that the inspector was murdered to cover it up. Carter tells her he believes Fred is in with Fenton on the fraud. Discovering Doris is in danger at the plant, Carter steals the police car and heads to the plant.
At the plant, Fred, after revealing how he will frame Fenton for the deaths and exonerate himself, shoots Fenton dead. Carter arrives just as Fred is about to shoot Doris and, after Feed runs out of bullets, fights with and knocks out Fred. The police arrive and take both Carter and Fred into custody. The next scene shows the newlywed Mr. & Mrs. Mike Carter heading off for their honeymoon in a police cruiser.
Cast
- Lawrence Tierney as Michael C. "Mike" Carter
- Priscilla Lane as Doris Brewster
- Phillip Reed as Freddie Dysen
- June Clayworth as Connie Fenton
- Elisabeth Risdon as Gene Dysen
- Steve Brodie as Fenton
- Frank Fenton as Lieutenant Borden
- Charles Cane as Capt. Wayne
- Pepe Hern as Pachuco
Critical reception
Brian Baxter of The Guardian identified Bodyguard as one of Fleischer's early RKO films that has stood the test of time.[1] Michael Barrett of PopMatters rated it 6/10 and called it "a trim little B film that’s an unpolished gem of late-'40s noir".[2]
References
- ^ Baxter, Brain (March 28, 2006). "Richard Fleischer". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ^ Barrett, Michael (March 2, 2011). "'Bodyguard': A Two-Fisted B Picture -- from Robert Altman?". PopMatters. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
External links
- Bodyguard at IMDb
- Template:Allmovie title
- Bodyguard at the TCM Movie Database: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69295/Bodyguard/
- Bodyguard at the TCM Movie Database
- Bodyguard opening scenes on YouTube Film (opening scenes)is no longer available on YouTube
 | This article about a 1940s crime drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |