Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

mark.waltz This surprisingly excellent film noir mixes every element of the classic noir, mixing a prison break, a reluctant participant forced at gunpoint to aid the escapee, a trashy vixen, an innocent young girl wrongly accused of being a robbery accomplice, a tough-talking restaurant owner obsessed with religion, and a confrontation between the two convicts, all in a rustic setting. There are also assorted locales, including two cops who frequent the restaurant and a married couple who live like gypsies, popping in and out to entertain the owner and staff of the roadside dive which has cabins where the misunderstood convict hides out. Other than Mischa Auer, who plays the traveling actor husband, the cast is filled with obscure unknowns who all deliver totally believable performances that are naturalistic and sharp.Paul Langton, a veteran T.V. actor, plays a prison trustee forced to aid another prisoner in his escape attempt. Knowing that his attempt to return to prison could mean his death, he decides to hide out in the tough Marian Kerby's roadside inn, doing odd jobs and ultimately becoming a part of Kerby's extended family. That clan includes two nieces as different as night and day (Cathy Downs as the noble one; Jane Weeks as the trampy one) and the alcoholic chef (Roman Bohnen) whose affection for Downs is based upon his own abandonment of his family and his realization that Downs would be the same age as his own daughter.Kerby's Aunt Maggie is a tough old broad, greeting her customers with home-spun friendliness, but harping at Bohnen for his drinking, Weeks for her floozy ways, and Langton for reading the Sunday paper instead of going with her to church. In short, she's a big-hearted doll who uses tough love on the people around her, although she definitely is tired of Weeks' philandering. In the scene where she finds out the reason behind Bohnen's dependency on alcohol, she shows what really lies behind all that sweet talk and harping. While she only made three films, Kerby's performance is that of a pro, and you will find yourself rooting for her, especially when she makes her feelings towards Langton known after discovering the truth.The performance of Jane Weeks as the slutty Georgie reminds me of Gloria Grahame. She is obviously no good, and any association with Langton would lead him to the same fate of the anti-hero in the low budget noir classic "Detour" where Ann Savage was just as sexually manipulative and twice as devious. Downs is feisty, if a lot more realistic and down to earth, yet not too sweet, as the ingénue who was briefly involved with the mastermind behind the prison escape (Rory Mallinson). Bohnen is excellent as Smitty, whether confiding his past to Kerby or drunkenly giving Downs a bowl filled with goldfish. Auer goes a bit too over the top and his character seems rather out of place.While the print of the available DVD is extremely grainy, the sound is good enough to listen to, and the film itself is extremely fast moving, so the print quality should not be a factor. The characters are all fascinating, even if a few of them (particularly Weeks and Auer) deserve a good slap down. The excellent screenplay builds up tension towards the exciting climax which ends on a promising note for one, but an untimely end for another.

MartinHafer "For You I Die" is a very low budget movie with mostly lesser-known actors. Apart from Mischa Auer, the cast is filled with talented but anonymous looking actors and actresses. However, this does NOT mean the film is poor in any way. And, apart from a lull during the unnecessary castanet scene, it's a dynamite little film.In an unusual break with conventional style, the film begins just after a prison break. All the things leading up to it you learn later in the film--such as how Johnny Coulter (Paul Langton) was forced into the escape even though he was nearing the time for his parole. And, with his 'pal' killing a guard in the process of their escape, Johnny is scared not only of being caught by the police but of his fellow ex-inmate, Gruber (Don Harvey). Johnny has been instructed to go to a certain small town and look up Hope Novak (Cathy Downs)--and to wait with her until Gruber returns. However, it turns out that Hope hates Gruber as much as Johnny--and both are scared to do anything. And, over the course of this week, they start to fall for each other--something that could easily get them killed.The film works well because of the Langton's nice but tough performance. Additionally, the supporting characters really did a nice job--mostly because the writing and dialog worked so well. Not a great film but an exceptional film considering its humble pedigree.

JohnHowardReid Unless you're a Mischa Auer fan (I'm not), your enjoyment of this minor 1947 film noir will depend on how eager you are to see every noir escapade that Hollywood ever made. True, the lovely Cathy Downs does make her presence felt when she's on screen, but that doesn't happen very often. Mostly the script focuses on the lead man, Paul Langton (competent but somewhat lacking in personality), or the garrulous Marion Kerby. Yes, super-sexy Jane Weeks gets an occasional close-up, and Mischa Auer certainly manages to waste a fair amount of our time with pointless "comedy relief", but it's mostly Langton's film and he lacks the charisma to carry it. Dull direction by John Reinhardt doesn't help, but cameraman William Clothier does his best to give this minor entry an appropriately dark, noirish atmosphere.

mackjay2 Another in the list of solidly made B movies, FOR YOU I DIE is very much worth seeking out. This taut little Film Noir has good actors and a fine, dark atmosphere. Paul Langton is excellent as down-and-out Johnny Coulter, newly escaped from prison, but basically a decent guy. His companion, seen briefly in the film's shadowy opening, is Mac (Rory Mallinson), a hard-as-nails con-type who instructs Johnny to head alone to the restaurant where Mac's girlfriend Hope works. Nervous Johnny arrives and is immediately misled by floozy Jane Weeks as Georgie, who pretends to be Hope in order to seduce handsome Johhny. As the real Hope (symbolic name, no doubt), Cathy Downs is a standout, avoiding all the good-girl clichés and creating a believable character. Other very good performers in the film are Marion Kerby, Mischa Auer and Roman Bohnen. These actors give their all in what was most likely just a low-budget production. Director John Reinhardt keeps the pace fast and the details interesting, and William Clothier does some nice things with obscure, Noir lighting effects. A top-notch minor Noir, whose theme is the enjoyment of what life offers for free.