Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
a_chinn
I'm not all that familiar with director Roy Del Ruth, but this was a surprisingly solid little film noir. George Raft's brother is murdered, but left a clue as to the identity of his killer in a Gideon Bible, the MacGuffin of the piece, which Raft spends most of the film trying to locate. There's a fine cast for a low budget crime picture, which includes the under appreciated Virginia Mayo, along with Gene Lockhart, Raymond Burr, and Henry Morgan (who nearly steals the picture with his villainous phychotic supporting role). Overall, the film isn't all that original, but it has a strong cast and solid direction, which makes it a must see for fans of film noir.
sfdphd
This film was memorable in ways that the director probably didn't intend it to be. George Raft's performance is over the top, in a good way. He doesn't hold back his anger with the church yet shows his inner conflict by donating money and praying at the altar. That's the serious part. And Raymond Burr is seriously evil. But many other scenes cracked me up with laughter. All the scenes with the Bible, the guy who comes back after the train scene, and of course the ending which was spectacular in a hilarious way. The phrase "24 hour Service" will always remind me of this film... In fact, that should have been the title...This film is worth seeing because it is so unusual for a noir picture to combine the serious with the humor and the religious themes. And the cast has plenty of interesting characters....
blanche-2
George Raft stars in the 1949 "Red Light" with Virginia Mayo, Raymond Burr, Gene Lockhart, Arthur Franz, and a host of other familiar faces.Raft plays Johnny Torno, the head of the Torno Freight Company. When he caught Nick Cherney (Burr) embezzling from him, he had him put in prison.When Johnny's brother Jess, an army chaplain, is discharged, Nick sees a chance to get back at Johnny, who adores his brother. Jess is found dying in a hotel room, and all he can say to Johnny is, "Bible...in the Bible." Johnny believes that Jess means his own Bible. Eventually he realizes he meant the Gideon Bible in his hotel room. But the Gideon Bible is missing by the time Johnny gets back there.Johnny sets out to find the Bible by tracking down anyone who had stayed in the room since Jess, determined to find out who killed his brother and killing the murderer himself.The Bible plays an important part in the film, not just the physical Bible, but what's inside. And it isn't what Johnny thinks.I really liked this movie because of its interesting slant, and also, I don't know what it is, but I like George Raft. He normally stays in one range - he's dapper, he gets angry, he's tough -- and in this film, he's really tough. I mean, nobody gets to him, not even a blind man! One thing Raft had on screen was warmth, and here, you see Johnny's love for Jess, and his pain when his brother dies.The other thing about this movie that is wonderful is all the familiar faces - besides actors known primarily for films: Raft, Mayo, and Lockhart, we have TV star Burr, Harry Morgan (September Bride, Pete & Gladys, MASH), William Frawley (I Love Lucy), Victor Sen Young (Charlie Chan, Bonanza), Barton MacLane (I Dream of Jeannie), Arthur Franz, who was in everything, Philip Pine, who must have done every TV show ever, Ken Murray, known for his home movies of celebrities, Paul Frees, the "Man of a Thousand Voices" who was the voice of Boris on Rocky the Squirrel), Bob Jellison (Bobby the Bellboy when "I Love Lucy" was in Hollywood), and Marlon Brando's first wife Movita.Dmitri Tiomkin's music ranges from riffs on Ave Maria, Dies Irae, and some Tosca thrown in. Good movie.
Alex da Silva
George Raft (Johnny Torno) owns a trucking company. Because of his real-life gangster connections you can't help but think he's corrupt. Anyway, he seems to be playing a good guy who owns a trucking company. His army-decorated holy brother Arthur Franz (Jess) comes across as an annoying priest who is thankfully murdered at the beginning of the film and thus begins Mr Raft's campaign to dish out some revenge. His only clue is a bible that needs to be tracked down.The cast are good in this film, especially the bad guys Raymond Burr (Nick) and Harry Morgan (Rocky). George Raft plays himself and that's completely fine. The film throws you a curve ball at one point when Raft meets up with blind Phillip Pine (Pablo). We hit a sentimental streak and start groaning at the piousness of it all before Raft provides the funniest moment of the film which provides a superb counter-balance to what we have just heard. Raft gets straight to his point with a very frank "have you got it or not?" to Pine. It's brilliant. It's delivered in a way that suggests he has absolutely no time for the story that he has just been told, just like the audience can't be bothered with it. Priceless! I assume the lights in the final scene are red - it's a bit of a strange title for a black and white film.
