Private Hell 36

Director: Don Siegel Don Siegel

Overview

A pair of cops sink to corruption, make a fortune and then suffer great guilt in this realistic and hard-driving police drama.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/21/2012
UPC:	0887090045506
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:21:00
Sales rank:	21,943

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ida Lupino	Lilli Marlowe
Howard Duff	Jack Farnham,Farnham's Child
Steve Cochran	Cal Bruner
Dean Jagger	Capt. Michaels
Dorothy Malone	Francey Farnham
Jerry Hausner	Nightclub Boss
Dabbs Greer	Bartender
Chris O'Brien	Coroner
Kenneth Patterson	Superior Officer
George Dockstader	Fugitive
Jimmy Hawkins	Delivery Boy
King Donovan	Burglar
Budget Duff	Baby Famham
Leith Stevens	Composer

Technical Credits

Collier Young

Ida Lupino

Don Siegel	Director
Collier Young	Producer,Screenwriter
Ida Lupino	Producer,Screenwriter
T.A. Carman	Sound/Sound Designer
Howard Wilson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Private Hell 36 is ultimately a rather standard police flick with noir overtones, but it's worth watching for a number of reasons. Director Don Siegel is not turning in the best work of his career, but he's still in firm command here, directing at all times efficiently and at times going beyond that into the electrifying. The latter is evident in the two big gun battles that bookend the film and that demonstrate Siegel's ability to create tension and excitement with seeming ease. Hell also has at its disposal a superior cast. Ida Lupino, world weary but vulnerable, is always a plus. Her role in Hell is not as well written as one might wish, but she makes the most of what is essentially a supporting part. In an even smaller role, Dorothy Malone is aces, but it's the male leads who really do the best work here. Howard Duff is quite convincing as the good cop who has a moment of weakness, and Steve Cochran turns in really impressive work as the tortured, bitter cop. The plotting gets awkward in places, and there's too much that's familiar, but overall Hell is a decent way to pass the time.