While not literally The Devil, Lawrence Tierney as fast-talking and mean con man Steve Morgan is evil personified, no doubt!
I guess it wasn't too difficult for Lawrence Tierney to play the part of a nasty guy with a mean streak since he had a notoriously bad reputation for his off-screen antics that included drunken barroom brawls, and for being generally intimidating and uncooperative on the set.
In San Diego, Steve Morgan has just robbed a bank and killed a man in the process, and to get out of town in a hurry, he hitches a ride with this poor schlep named Jimmy Ferguson who is just trying to get back home to his wife after his friends threw him a party. Fergie as he is often called, was played by Ted (The Bride Wore Crutches) North.
In a quick stop at a gas station, Steve Morgan doesn't know it, but he's just gotten I.D.'d.
Jimmy Ferguson calls his wife to let her know he'll be home soon, and not to worry. Boy, did he get that wrong!
That just might be brimstone coming out of those flared nostrils!
Being a totally irresponsible individual, Steve Morgan gladly offers up a ride to these two gals without even consulting Jimmy. The blonde on the left is Peter Lawford's cousin Betty (The Monkey's Paw) Lawford as Agnes Smith, and the woman on the right is Nan (The Bamboo Saucer) Leslie as Beulah Zorn.
The local cops are kind of busy! To be only fair, they are on their time off!
So let's get this party rolling!
The cops are hot on the trail, and Steve Morgan just keeps coming up with one lie after another to explain it all to the other three, and they are gullible enough to believe him.
Everybody's tired so instead of going home, they go to the empty beach house of a friend of Jimmy's. While there, Jimmy calls his wife again, and Agnes turns up some swingin' music loud, and gets on the other line to let Jimmy's wife know that he's not exactly doing what he's telling her.
A night watchman shows up, so Steve challenges him to drink a whole big glass of booze in an effort to make him pass out and be out of their hair!
As the cops close in, Steve Morgan slashes the tires of the car, cuts the phone lines, and manages to drown Beulah, all the while explaining it away!
Finally, Jimmy can't take it any more, and goes out looking some for someone to give him a ride, but this guy sure isn't any help!
Agnes is like the stupidest and most desperate bitch on the planet. She tells Steve that oh, well, her and Beulah had just met, and weren't really friends, so she doesn't car she died, and she's willing to lie or do anything to be able to run away with him, even though he was calling her Grandma when they first met, and only had the hots for Beulah.
This is a great lobby card from one of the final scenes before the end, when the cops, and Jimmy's wife all end up at the beach house in one massive fustercluck!
Steve and Agnes make it out of there in a stolen police car, but she's finally had enough and asks to be dropped off at the next bus stop.
As the Sheriff said, "They won't get far!"
So that headline just about tells the whole story!
This was probably the main sign on how to get to San Diego in 1947.
2 comments:
needed way less Ted North (Nice Guy), but Larry T is always great...
This flick looks just too too cool! It doesn't seem to be on DVD, so I guess I have to send out a search party for it! :D
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