The Big Combo

Starring:Wilde, Donlevy, Van Cleef
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

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A prime example of the American film noir style that flourished during the 1940s and '50s, The Big Combo is now highly regarded as a stylistic milestone for its innovative use of deep shadows and harsh, singular light sources to define its visual strategy. This look is largely credited to the rule-breaking brilliance of cinematographer John Alton, who turns a standard plot of the era into a richly atmospheric experiment in visual invention. Ignoring conventional approaches to lighting, Alton defines the screen in terms of blackness, often framing characters as silhouettes cast in ominous grays or thick, roiling fogs. Moving from clarity to abstraction with masterful grades in between, Alton's trend-setting style has been celebrated by cinematographers since the film's release in 1955.

The film's plot keeps brisk pace with the visuals, focusing on the obsessive efforts of a tenacious detective (Cornel Wilde) to destroy a sadistic mobster (Richard Conte) whose vicious influence has nearly ruined the life of the woman (Jean Wallace) he keeps under his dark wing. Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman are nicely cast as the villain's toady henchmen, and Brian Donlevy's usual limitations serve him well as the humbled, frustrated kingpin who's been stifled by Conte's ambition. Director Joseph H. Lewis previously demonstrated his raw, stylistic vigor with the earlier cult favorite Gun Crazy, and here he's in peak form with a perfect match of subject and sensibility. The result is hard-boiled entertainment that still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

The Big Combo.......2007-06-26

Lewis's ultra-hard-boiled noir is savage and unstinting in its view of two men, one squarely on the side of the law and the other seemingly above it, locked in a battle of wills that may eventually destroy them both. Conte is particularly repellent as the sadistic Mr. Brown, but he gets excellent support from Brian Donlevy as a stoic, humiliated underling whose hearing aids provide one of the movie's most gruesome plot points. Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef are also solid playing Brown's all-too-loyal thugs. Raw and beautifully stylized by John Alton's brilliant use of light, shadow, and slanted angles, "The Big Combo" makes for a bracing night at the movies.

John Alton's cinematography is a classic noir example of what can be done with limited means.......2007-06-14

When the two most interesting scenes involve a hearing aid pulled from Brian Donlevy's ear, I think a good assumption would be that The Big Combo lacks a little something. The plot is simplicity itself. An obsessive cop is determined to bring down a crime boss, come what may. As the cop collects witnesses, the crime boss' two goons turn them into corpses. Eventually, the cop prevails...and maybe even makes a friend of the crime boss' innocent, blond and zaftig girlfriend. In fact, however, I think the Big Combo lacks two big somethings.

First, the movie has a giant, dull center because the two leads, Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace, are two of the most limited actors Hollywood ever gave star roles to. While Wilde might generously be called a limited actor, Wallace, with her little girl voice and intonations, simply isn't an actor at all. For my money, almost all the actors lack any inherent interest. The implied relationship between the two killers, amusingly played by Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holiman, might have been an inside joke in the Fifties, but it now seems simply an excuse for excessive analysis on Turner Classic Movies. Donlevy, in fact, saddened me. It was disconcerting to see this actor, who had earned major stature in Hollywood in his prime, reduced to playing a broken-down, aging, useless crime boss in a movie of this quickie, low-budget quality.

Second, the dialogue is as flat and stale as yesterday's fried egg. It doesn't power the plot. It doesn't make us sit up because of cleverness or pungency. It's as lifeless as the delivery most of the actors give it, especially Wilde and Wallace. Richard Conte never quite made the A list in Hollywood, but he was always a dynamic and forceful actor, and a good one, too. He's the most animated of any of the actors. His role as the ruthless and smooth Mr. Big, always referred to and addressed as Mr. Brown, gives him more latitude to be interesting than the other players. Yet the silly device of having everyone refer to him only as Mr. Brown brings Conte perilously close to being nothing more than a screenwriter's idea of iconic menace.

What's to like about the movie? Well, the plot is hardly original, yet the idea of a Mr. Big eventually brought down by an obsessed cop while people fall by the wayside is usually satisfying. Most impressively, John Alton, the cinematographer, pulled out all the tricks in his bag to give The Big Combo a great noir look. From dramatic spotlights pinning the bad guy against a wall to the flashes of silent machine guns, from Lee Van Cleef's face looking stark and scary to the opening shots of a woman pursued by two killers through dark shadows and blinding lights, The Big Combo is a pleasure to look at. But if all you can say about a noir is that the lighting was great, that might be faint praise.

Big Dumpo.......2007-05-13

What an utter waste of time. I love old black and white movies, especially film noir, but the lighting is amateurish, the acting is very stiff, the ideas are idiotic (they arrest a woman for murder because she attempts suicide), the makeup is incredibly poor (one man's gray hair looks like it was applied with house paint), the music is suddenly loud for no reason, but the writing should get a special award for stupidity. There is a wandering, nonsensical, and boring plot line that could not be saved with the greatest of actors, and they certainly are not that. Having seen it all the way through, I have no idea what a "Big Combo" is or why anyone wanted to make this movie. It is so bad I will hesitate to order a Big Combo the next time I want fries with my hamburger. I'm actually sorry that I have to give it one star. Stinko!

Great movie, great price!.......2007-04-28

I don't have to repeat everything that others have written-- this is a great movie! I already had the Image DVD when I decided to buy the Geneon PD release for just over a dollar from an Amazon seller to send to a friend. I expected the inexpensive public domain release to be barely watchable. I've had that experience with most of the Alpha DVD's I've purchased. But, THIS Geneon is quite good. Before looking for an out of print Image DVD, check this one out! With shipping, my total cost was under 4 dollars! Highly recommended!

The Big Combo.......2007-03-26

I'm a fan of the old B&W detective/mystery films. This one is OK but not great.

Mobster Movies: The Big Combo/Johnny One-Eye/Kid Monk Baroni/Port of New York

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Mobster Movies: The Big Combo/Johnny One-Eye/Kid Monk Baroni/Port of New York
Starring: Mobster Classics
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009IWGHS
Release Date: 2005-06-07

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The Big Combo
John Alton's cinematography is a classic noir example of what can be done with limited means
Big Dumpo
Great movie, great price!
The Big Combo

The Big Combo
Starring: Cornel Wilde , Richard Conte , Brian Donlevy , Jean Wallace , and Robert Middleton
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003XALW
Release Date: 2000-02-01

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Description

Raw and violent, steeped in the film noir tradition, this cult classic ventures into the seamy gangster underworld, oozing with seediness and low-life characters. Far ahead of its time, "The Big Combo" takes a dark, disturbing look at the battle between Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), a good cop, and Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), a sadistic crime boss--and the cool blonde who gets caught in the middle (Jean Wallace, married to Wilde in real life at the time). With the help of the gangster's ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangsters are ruthless. They savagely pummel Diamond and conduct gut-wrenchingly brutal acts of torture that were unusual on screen at the time of the film's release.

Customer Reviews:

The Big Combo.......2007-06-26

John Alton's cinematography is a classic noir example of what can be done with limited means.......2007-06-14

Big Dumpo.......2007-05-13

Great movie, great price!.......2007-04-28

The Big Combo.......2007-03-26

I'm a fan of the old B&W detective/mystery films. This one is OK but not great.

Average customer rating:

Big Boy Combo Part 2 - Pentrex

Manufacturer: Pentrex
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Weighing in at one and a quarter million pounds, measuring 132 feet long, Union Pacific Big Boys were the giants of the rails. Just 25 Big Boys were built and they only remained in service for 18 years before the end of the steam era. This Combo DVD brings you two viewing treats: a Pentrex documentary focusing on Big Boy operations over Sherman Hill and a 1950s television drama about a Big Boy engineer.Last of the Giants Volume 3: Sherman Hill(70 Minutes)Allan Krieg, writer and director of Last of the Giants,shares the challenges his camera crews faced while capturing the Big Boys on film. Scenes of the running gear in motion, shot from a camera car on a parallel track, and pacing sequences of the Big Boys on the road are thrilling to see. Youll ride in the cabs and watch the firemen and engineers at work. Interviews with surviving crewmembers give you a sense of what it was like to run these giant engines over Sherman Hill. All the scenes shown in this production are compiled from 16mm color film shot between 1955 and 1958.Big Boys on TV(70 Minutes, Black & White)Ed Begley stars in this 1950s NBC Lucky Strike Theater drama about a Big Boy engineer who is struggling with fears about his future. The live broadcast takes you right into the heart of this railroaders life at home and in the cab of his Big Boy. Pentrex incorporated some of the original footage shot on location showing Big Boys on Sherman Hill and in the Cheyenne yards. (Its all new material, not used in other Pentrex videos.) We also included the old commercials that aired with the broadcast. They will make you smile. This is a program the whole family can enjoy.DVD Special Feature:Chapter Menuprovides instant access to program segments.2 Hours 20 MinutesIn Color and Black & White with Appropriate Stereo Sound and NarrationFull-screen (4x3) FormatNo region code; can be played in any NTSC DVD player worldwidePackaged in Sturdy Vinyl Clamshell Case

Average customer rating:

Big Boy Combo Part 1 (Railroad Lines)

Manufacturer: Pentrex
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007WHD38
Release Date: 2005-02-02

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"First is first and second is nobody."
Unspoken repression and graphic violence!

The Big Combo
Starring: Jay Adler , Baynes Barron , Whit Bissell , Lee Van Cleef , and Ted de Corsia
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Crooked Way

Product Features:

Run Time: 84 minutes
Number of Discs: 1
Originally Released in 1955
Black White
No region encoding; For global distribution

ASIN: B0002W4SV8
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Product Description

Joseph H. Lewis' masterpiece, The Big Combo, stands alongside Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour and Fritz Lang's The Big Heat as one of the truly great film noir classics. This dark film is an unrelenting and tormented catalogue of savage violence, grotesquely black irony and dangerously obsessed sexuality. Police detective Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) has two dangerous obsessions. He's on a reckless, hell-bent crusade to bring down smooth and sadistic gangster, Mr. Brown (Richard Conte) and wracked by insatiable desire for good-girl-gone-wrong Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace), Brown's captive lover. In mortal terror, Susan is helpless to escape from the lust-filled nightmare of her life. Meanwhile, Brown's lieutenant-in-crime, McClure (Brian Donlevy) plots with cruel hoods Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman) to overthrow their boss. In Brown's unforgiving world, however, defection and disloyalty are punishable by cruel and unusual death. Photographed by legendary master of sinister shadows, John Alton (I, the Jury; He Walked By Night; The Lady and the Monster), The Big Combo is shocking and hard-boiled Hollywood noir, and not for the faint of heart. Starring: Brian Donlevy Lee Van Cleef Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis DVD Details: Run Time: 84 minutes Number of Discs: 1 Originally Released in 1955 Black White No region encoding; For global distribution.

Customer Reviews:

"First is first and second is nobody.".......2005-05-22

I'm a film noir fanatic and I can tell you this is easily one of the very best examples you'll find anywhere. It has an awesome cast, wonderful hard-boiled dialogue, a fast-paced jazzy score by legendary composer David Raksin, and incredible cinematography by the great John Alton, who is well-known for his work in film noirs like "T-Men", "Raw Deal", "The Amazing Mr. X", and "He Walked by Night". If you looked up film noir in a dictionary this movie could be the definition!

Cornel Wilde stars as Lieutenant Leonard Diamond, a "righteous" cop who's determined to take down the evil Mr. Brown (Richard Conte at his menacing best!), who controls a crime racket known as "The Big Combination". Desperate to get evidence, Diamond turns to Brown's beautiful girlfriend Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace) for help. She refuses to help him until Brown's henchmen murder Diamond's girlfriend, which convinces Susan that Brown must be brought to justice.

Diamond tries to track down potential witnesses against Mr. Brown, but Brown proves to be too crafty, and the potential witnesses are quickly eliminated. That is, until Diamond tracks down Mr. Brown's wife, who only after continuous pressure finally agrees to help the police. It all boils down to the inevitable showdown between good and evil, with Brown cornered by the persistant Diamond, who like the Mounties, "always gets his man."

"The Big Combo" was directed by Joseph Lewis, the same genius who gave us the classic "Gun Crazy". Cornel Wilde and Richard Conte were simply superb, although the obvious scene-stealer was Conte who portrayed one of the cruelest gangsters of all time. In fabulous supporting roles were Brian Donlevy (who portrayed Mr. Brown's right-hand man) and Lee Van Cleef (who portrayed one of Mr. Brown's hoodlums of course). Beautiful Jean Wallace was actually married to co-star Cornel Wilde at the time, making their scenes together even more convincing and entertaining. This movie has earned a reputation for having graphic, ahead-of-its-time violence, but trust me it's nothing you can't handle! This movie is a definite must for all film noir buffs!

Unspoken repression and graphic violence!.......2005-01-12

There is a clear and obvious sense of fatalism , hopeless and perverse sexuality found in the Big Combo ; and this is an interesting detail due it exists in just a few noir films .

The dramatic square presents the female vertex Susan Lowell a very disturbed woman emotionally invalid who needs emotional support ; she swims in two waters : the local mob Mr. Brown and eventually Leonard Diamond .

Leonard Diamond is profoundly obsessed and determined to see Brown imprisoned but you feel an obvious unspoken attraction for Susan and her behavior will accent his sexual frustration.

Mr. Brown is the hog mobster . His philosophy is evident : "First is first and second is nobody" . Despite his amoral attitude his character is direct violent without any doubt or nostalgic behavior .

Finally we have the suggested male couple Mingo and Fante who make the dirty job for Diamond `s torture .

Striking contrasts between the glorious black and white and Lewis sexual overtones make of this film a superior and original noir film in the more creative decade of this genre in the cinema story which by itself means too much.

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