Crashout (1955)

This independent film production is one of the grimmest motion pictures you'll ever see. I'm not surprised that in 1955 no major studio would have made Crashout, especially without no real rooting interest in any good guy.Six convicts are all that remain unapprehended after a giant Crashout of a prison break. The six and they're all different in their own ways are William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Gene Evans, Luther Adler, William Talman, and Marshall Thompson. The film is their story and what happens to each of them fleeing the law.Bendix is wounded, but the rest have reason to keep him alive because he knows where $180,000.00 in buried loot is from his last job. They even get him a doctor and later kill Dr. Percy Helton. Some other people get in their way and one by one they're killed by the law or by each other. Bendix the toughest and meanest of the bunch is the most memorable, followed by Arthur Kennedy who was not a lifer like the others but just wanted a taste of freedom and William Talman who is a religious fanatic. Not exactly the crowd I'd choose to hang with, but these guys have drawn each other in life's game of chance.Bendix was the box office draw here. In films he was an excellent character player, but on radio and television he was a star and was still doing and starring in The Life Of Riley on television when Crashout was made. He's also one of my favorites and those of you discovering William Bendix for the first time see this and then see an episode of The Life Of Riley. You can't get more apart than lovable, bumbling Chester Riley and the escaped convict in Crashout. You'll barely believe it's the same actor.Crashout is an unforgettable noir film of the Fifties, don't miss it if it is broadcast.

***SPOILERS*** Overlooked prison escape drama with six convicts , out of some 50, escaping in a major break-out of a Southwestern prison and little by little doing the job, by killing or having themselves killed, that the pressuring police and state troopers have in store for them. Lead by the brutal Van Duff, William Bendix, who was seriously injured during the escape the six wanted men plan to make their way to the snow capped Rocky Mountians where he had previously stashed some $180,000.00 of stolen loot. With so much money on the line the six escaped convicts end up murdering kidnapping and assaulting a number of innocent people on their way to find the $180,000.00 pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.Murdering and kidnapping their way to the stashed money all but one of the escaped convicts bank embezzler Joe Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, survived to keep it only to end up being caught by the state troopers and put back behind bars before he could spend and enjoy it. The movie showed just what greed can do to those infected by it which caused the six escaped convict to self destruct before the film was finally over. And their flight to money and freedom turned out to be a very brief one for them. And far less satisfying then what they were facing behind prison bars. Check out a very young innocent and sexy Gloria Talbot as the girl on the train. Gloria struck up a friendly conversation with escaped convict Billy Lang, Marshall Thompson, who fell in love with her and was going to quit running from the law. Billy ended up murdered by fellow escapee religious fanatic Swanee Remmsen, William Tallman, with a knife in his back. Swanee a convicted murderer despite in his keeping with the biblical ten commands didn't quite observe the one that said "Thou Shall not Kill".

Crashout is directed by Lewis R. Foster, who also co-adapts the screenplay with Hal E. Chester. It stars William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Luther Adler, William Talman, Gene Evans and Christopher Olsen. Music is by Leith Stevens and cinematography by Russell Metty.Six convicts crashout of prison and embark on a life and death struggle to reach safety…As tough as hobnail boots, Crashout is right there in the upper echelons of convict based film noir. There's not exactly anything new here on formula terms, the cons are angry macho men, each one has their own hang ups, and each one has their respective flaws. Be it religious maniac, fantasist, psychopath or the one who doesn't belong in this company, it's a roll call of familiar convict types. Yet the performances are so strong, the tension so tight, all worries about familiarity breeding contempt disappears the moment the men hide out in a disused mine. For here we learn about their psychological make-ups, and quickly buy into the fractured dynamic that we know is going to result in a machismo fuelled implosion.The warden said dead or alive and he didn't say which.Narrative strength comes by way of the fact the leader of the group, Van Morgan Duff (Bendix), is very injured and needs medical help. An out and out cold blooded brute, Duff wisely strikes a deal to split a pot load of hidden loot with the group, thus ensuring he gets to stay alive and in charge! The men then traverse the lands and encounter civilians, which in turn throws up some potent and tense filled scenarios. Murder and violence does follow, the film pretty brutal for the time, while the question of if anyone survives till the end looms large throughout.You can take the con out of the jail, but you can't take the jail out of the con.Lewis and Metty do a fine job of cloaking the picture with rugged toughness. Often the camera is up close and personal to reveal the grime, blood or sweat that oozes from the men. Scenes of the guys breaking bottles to use as weapons, a hand caked with hot candle wax, or Duff laid down in the dirt with ants crawling over him, it's all relevant to making these cons as tough as they come. We are not meant to like them, to root for them, they are outcasts of society and we know it. Visually it scores best when in the claustrophobic confines of the cave, and with an extended night sequence at Dexter rail station that's bathed in shadows and murky lights.Pulsing with fatalism and dripping with dread, Crashout is highly recommended to those after a tough cons on the lam film noir. 8.5/10

What an overlooked gem! What a find! This convicts-on-the-run thriller is outstanding. Top-drawer performances led by William Bendix and Arthur Kennedy leave their dirty thumb prints all over this film. Explicitly violent for its time, film noir doesn't get much darker than this. "Crashout" is on the same level as "Kiss Me Deadly", "The Asphalt Jungle" and "The Killing". This masterful story is an absolute must-see for any crime-drama and/or film noir buff. A guaranteed wild ride.