Big Combo a incontestablement inspiré de nombreux réalisateurs contemporains comme Quentin Tarantino pour Reservoir dogs."Je dois reconnaître que l'affection que je ressens pour THE BIG COMBO ASSOCIATION CRIMINELLE est encore plus grande que pour GUN CRAZY (LE DEMON DES ARMES) tourné antérieurement par ce même Joseph LEWIS.Le clair obscur est son univers » Barry GIFFORD dans « PENDEZ-MOI HAUT, COURT, autres chroniques sur le film noir » -Ed. RIVAGES-CAHIERS DU CINEMA

A Brutal and Twisted Noir

Author: evanston_dad from United States
18 December 2006

Cornel Wilde plays a police detective obsessed with bringing down crime lord Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), while hoping at the same time to win the affections of Conte's girl, Jean Wallace, in this tremendously atmospheric noir from 1955. The noir genre wouldn't last much longer (many contend that 1958's "Touch of Evil" is the last true noir), but it went out with a bang, giving us some of its best examples (this, "Kiss Me Deadly," "On Dangerous Ground") in its last years.

Wilde plays detective Leonard Diamond like a man coming apart at the seams. His determination to bring an end to Brown's reign feels as if it's fueled by personal motivations as much as by a sense of justice. This ambiguity in the hero's actions adds to the rotten atmosphere created by director Joseph Lewis, in which the bad guys often have more allure than the good ones. Richard Conte certainly has magnetism to spare; his monotone, machine-gun patter when belittling Diamond for being a "little man" nearly makes you forget that Wilde towers over Conte whenever they're in the frame together. And, despite his chauvinist treatment of her, one can understand why Jean Wallace's character would be drawn against her will to the more virile Conte than to the "impotent" Wilde.

Indeed, the question of manhood -- who has it and who doesn't -- is central to "The Big Combo." It's a theme common to the genre, but is given one of its most overt treatments here. In this twisted world, the ability to inflict pain -- be it mental, emotional, physical or sexual -- is a measure of one's ability to "be a man" and make it in the world. Those who aren't man enough, like Mr. Brown's gay henchmen or right-hand man, McClure (played with just the right amount of vulnerability by Brian Donlevy), are destroyed."The Big Combo" boasts arresting black and white images, and a number of thrillingly memorable set pieces (let's just say that imaginative and recurring use is made of a hearing aid). It doesn't beat its kissing cousin from the same year, "Kiss Me Deadly," in my book, but it's an awfully fun(??!!) ride.Grade: A

*

*

Another "Lost" Noir Classic

Author: Arriflex1 from Beyond The Cosmos
23 July 2004

Here is yet another gem from the forgotten noir vault. Director Joseph Lewis trades in the quasi-cinema verite style of his GUN CRAZY(1950) for strictly in-studio work and still hits the jackpot. Cinematographer John Alton works his customary chiaroscuro artistry on a fairly straightforward tale of one frustrated but determined police detective longing to collar one supremely confident crime boss.

Cornel Wilde plays the cop with stolid righteousness (although the lawman isn't above trysting with a leggy striptease artist). But the filmmakers put the main focus on the calculating yet tortured (and torturing) mobster played by Richard Conte. Conte, spitting out many of his lines with measured bile, is brilliant: a smug, know-it-all killer backed by the ever-ready menace of Lee Van Cleef and the studied goofiness of Earl Holliman. (As written, these two bring a very special dynamic to post-World War II crime melodrama).

Brian Donleavy is on hand as a washed up but still scheming mob kingpin. And Jean Wallace plays the high-falutin' moll who yearns to go back to her world of piano recitals and afternoon teas but who just can't get enough of Conte's sinister mojo. This low budget but highly effective noir makes an excellent double feature with another cheap but powerful film of the genre, BEHIND LOCKED DOORS. Both films are highly recommended.