Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Dirtylogy
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.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Spikeopath
Railroaded! Is directed by Anthony Mann and written by Gertrude Walker and John C. Higgins. It stars John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont and Jane Randolph. Music is by Alvin Levin and cinematography by Guy Roe.When an innocent young owner of a company van is framed for a robbery and killing of a cop, his sister takes up the case to prove his innocence. Forming an uneasy alliance with the detective in charge of the case, it is touch and go as to if innocence can be proved since the evidence is stacked against the youngster. But someone is responsible, and that someone is moving close to the action…A difficult film to recommend with confidence to those interested in noir/crime cinema, Anthony Mann's Railroaded has some good moments but unfolds merely as a solid noirish frame-up picture. Narrative holds no surprises and goes exactly where you wish it wouldn't. The tiny budget shows and the acting away from Ireland is pretty average at best, while important points of worth in the plotting drop in only to not be expanded upon thereafter; including the poor innocent youngster sitting in jail!However, it is that portrayal of villain Duke Martin by John Ireland that more than makes it worth sitting through. This is a villain who is not particularly bright in his decision making, but he has some odd kinks (perfuming his bullets, caressing his pistol) and he thinks of nothing to handing out violence to women. Mann and Roe utilise his menace with some good shadow play and lighted close ups. Elsewhere there's a hugely enjoyable "girl scrap" scene between Ryan and Randolph, made more dangerous by the presence of Duke in the shadows. Duke's setting-up of a wino stooge carries with it the requisite nastiness and his kills pack a punch for dramatic impact. The finale, as expected as it is, is well constructed by Mann and at least closes the film down with double bang instead of a whimper.With Desperate and Railroaded released in 1947, Anthony Mann was still crossing over and learning about his film noir capabilities. It would be T-Men made in the same year, with his pairing with ace cinematographer John Alton, where Mann found his mojo and began a coupling that would produce a run of film noir classics. Railroaded is passable, but best viewed as a time waster or appetiser to better pleasures. 6/10
robert-temple-1
This powerfully-directed thriller by Anthony Mann is about somebody who gets framed. Mann knew how to deliver, and it is very gritty. There are some crackling lines of dialogue and sharp performances. Jane Randolph is outstanding as a hard-bitten moll with a vulnerable streak, who starts out determined and then wobbles when things finally get too extreme. The film is about the frame-up of an innocent boy for a robbery and a killing. Behind it all is the ruthless psychotic gunman John ("don't give me that love stuff!") Ireland, who never had any trouble making people believe he would kill them as soon as look at them. (He was also a bit of a lady-killer off screen, at least one gal thought so and told me about it, but she lived.) Sheila Ryan is convincing as the good girl who gets it all wrong and makes things worse by suspecting the good guy and trusting the bad guy. Things get pretty tense, John Ireland just seems to want to shoot everybody, and he always seems to be one move ahead. It's amazing what you can do with a gun if you know how, or with a camera if you are Anthony Mann.
amerh
John Ireland's portrayal of a cold obsessed killer is the best thing in this movie. His performance is edgy, sexy and menacing. A brutal thug who loves his gun. Unfortunately he is hampered by a weak script, where his actions often make little sense. (For instance, why would he contact the sister of the suspect he framed?). Jane Randolph is also strong as the moll, although her character seems to change midway through the movie.One of the first noir films directed by Anthony Mann, the movie is well shot, fast paced, tightly edited and tough. One wishes the focus could have stayed on Ireland, or, alternatively, the strong scenes of Ed Kelly being framed and pushed around by the cops. Mann will better develop these themes in his later films (noirs and westerns). Still a pretty enjoyable movie and a must for film noir fans.
davidwel
John Ireland is a cold blooded and vile villain and Hugh Beaumont is an honest detective who's not so sure that he and his fellow overzealous cops have the right suspect (Ed Kelly) in the murder of a police officer in a gangland robbery. Toss in an evil cat fight between Sheila Ryan and Jane Randolph and "Railroaded!" becomes a prime example of Anthony Mann' superior post-war Film Noir direction. Using low lights and a suggestive script despite a low budget and grade "B" actors, Mann jumps right into the action from the start with a botched robbery that leads to not just the death of a cop, but the railroading of an innocent man. Mann builds the story up with tension and skill until the taught finale filled with gun shots, breaking glass, and confusing camera angles. It may be a "B" movie, but Mann deserves a "A" for his effort.
