Loan Shark (1952)

While not a fan of Raft's starring qualities for major studio films, I really enjoy him in tough little black and white B films like this. Low budget, filmed quickly, they seem a good fit for his real life tough, sometimes lowlife persona and abilities. I intend this as a compliment to Raft and if you watch "Loan Shark" you will see what I mean.In addition to Raft you have here a fine supporting cast including one of the best John Hoyt crime performances of his long distinguished career.Factories, lunch boxes and cheap hoods. Really evokes the underside of the 1950's and moves along briskly. Surprisingly entertaining.

It's marvelous what skillful photography and a good tailor can do. Here's George Raft, just a year away from his tired, weary, sagging, crumpled pseudo-hero of Man from Cairo, looking as neat and natty and almost as vigorous as his just-stepped-out-of-a-bandbox tough-guy of the 1940s. George not only looks like a star, he's in fiery action and smart-talking fettle. And he has a wonderful support cast here too, led by superbly costumed Dorothy Hart. Margia Dean in a small role as a café waitress is also up front in the looks department as is gorgeous TV cheer-leader, Spring Mitchell, in her only movie appearance. The villains are top too, with Paul Stewart in fine form as a suspicious blood-sucker. The plot, stolen from Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff's Appointment with Danger (1951) – and used again by Lippert in Portland Expose (1957) – generates plenty of excitement, thanks to the pacey, always-on-the-mettle direction of Seymour Friedman, one of the more inventive and astute of "B" men. Of course with this movie, he did enjoy four big advantages in the solid cast line-up; the ability to use atmospheric natural locations such as the Goodyear Tire Factory; and the inventively noirish cinematography contributed by Joseph Biroc, a master of the art of black-and-white suspensers such as Johnny Allegro, Cry Danger, Glass Wall and World for Ransom; and last but not least, a $250,000 budget!

Despite not being a George Raft fan I found this B-noir to be quite entertaining. Raft is a convict just out of prison. He moves in with his sister and brother-in-law. The brother-in-law gets murdered after threatening to go to the police about a loan shark racket. The gang has been emptying the pockets of the workers where the brother-in-law was working. Raft decides on a little payback. He worms his way into the gang in-order to get the goods on the mob. Several well staged bouts of fist-i-cuffs and a blazing gun battle ensue before all is settled. Good support is given by noir regulars Paul Stewart and John Hoyt. Photographed by noir vet Joseph Biroc who lensed the noirs THE GLASS WALL, WORLD FOR RANSOM, CRY DANGER and FORTY GUNS. Also of note are several of his later films, HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, and FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. A rather entertaining time-waster.

Loan Shark is a nice little gangster melodrama centering in on the loan sharking racket. By the time this movie was made, George Raft's popularity was dwindling. But for George Raft fans, this movie still makes the grade. In my opinion, with the exception of "Each dawn I Die", "They drive by night" and "Invisible Stripes", his best movies were done in the 1950's. In Loan Shark, Raft is cast as Joe Gargan, a tough ex con who wants to settle down and go straight by working with his brother-in-law's tire company. But alas, the tire plant is infected by a wave of assaults and killings. The plant's general manager pleads with Raft to find the criminals responsible and perhaps put an end to the bloodshed. Watch for Russell Johnson (TV's "the professor" on Gilligan's Island")in an early role.