- Director: Anthony Mann
- AMG Rating:
- Genre: Thriller
- Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Film Noir
- Themes: Serial Killers, Miscarriage of Justice
- Main Cast: John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont, Jane Randolph, Ed Kelly
- Release Year: 1947
- Country: US
- Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
One of director Anthony Mann's earlier films, Railroaded features John Ireland as Duke Martin, a seedy criminal looking to skim off of his boss' money. Instead of making the extra cash by his usual means--a small gambling operation run by beautician Clara Cahhoun (Jane Randolph)--Duke (Ireland) chooses instead to hold up the beauty parlor at gunpoint. Things go awry, however, when the cops hear Calhoun's (Randolph) assistant scream in terror. In a spray of gunfire, both a policeman and Martin's partner in crime are killed. Meanwhile, a local delivery boy is accused of killing the police officer. Detective Mike Ferguson (Hugh Beaumont) is assigned to the case, and quickly begins to butt heads with Duke, who he realizes from the start is up to no good.~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Review
Though definitely a "B" movie, Railroaded has a number of "A" list elements to recommend it, not the least of which is John Ireland's deliciously macabre performance as the villain of the piece. Cold-blooded and irredeemably nasty, Ireland's heartless performance verges on the perverse; he's not a man who necessarily enjoys killing (one gets the sense that "enjoy" is not a word in the character's vocabulary), he's just a man who seems to kill as a way of passing the time, and Ireland does full justice to the character. Railroaded also benefits from Anthony Mann's terse, tense, and atmospheric direction, which revels in the lights and shadows (mostly the latter) of Guy Roe's evocative camerawork. While Hugh Beaumont's detective is a bit stiff, he's still effective, and there's very fine work from Jane Randolph and Ed Kelly and a mostly solid contribution from Sheila Ryan; the cat fight between Ryan and Randolph is a special delight. The script is Railroaded's weakness, fairly predictable and much too superficial, despite a few nice bits (the suspicious manner in which cops are treated by Ryan and Kelly, a crime boss who enjoys Oscar Wilde). The screenplay doesn't derail Railroaded, but it does keep it from being a top-notch noir thriller. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- John Ireland - Duke Martin
- Sheila Ryan - Rosa Ryan
- Hugh Beaumont - Mickey Ferguson
- Jane Randolph - Clara Calhoun
Ed Kelly - Steve Ryan
