Walk a Crooked Mile

{{Short description|1948 film by Gordon Douglas}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox film | name = Walk a Crooked Mile | image = Walk a Crooked Mile Lobby Card.jpg

| alt = | caption = Theatrical release lobby card | director = [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas]] | producer = {{plainlist| * [[Edward Small]] * [[Grant Whytock]] }} | screenplay = [[George Bruce (writer)|George Bruce]] | story = [[Bertram Millhauser]] | narrator = [[Reed Hadley]] | starring = {{plainlist| * [[Louis Hayward]] * [[Dennis O'Keefe]] }} | music = [[Paul Sawtell]] | cinematography = {{plainlist| * [[Edward Colman (cinematographer)|Edward Colman]] * [[George Robinson (cinematographer)|George Robinson]] }} | editing = [[James E. Newcom]] | color_process = [[Black and white]] | studio = Edward Small Productions | distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1948|9|2|United States}} | runtime = 91 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = }}

'''''Walk a Crooked Mile''''' is a 1948 American [[anti-communist]] [[Cold War]] [[crime film]], directed by [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas]], starring [[Dennis O'Keefe]] and [[Louis Hayward]].

==Plot== {{More plot|date=September 2024}} Information comes to light of a Communist spy ring infiltrating the Lakeview Laboratory of Nuclear Physics, a southern California atomic research center. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Dan O'Hara teams up with Scotland Yard detective Philip Grayson, to hunt down the perpetrators responsible for the leak. At least one of the scientists at the nuclear plant is suspected of being involved in the clandestine espionage operation and the two investigators set out to find the mole and work out how the complex formulas are being smuggled out.

==Cast== * [[Louis Hayward]] as Philip 'Scotty' Grayson * [[Dennis O'Keefe]] as Daniel F. O'Hara * [[Louise Allbritton]] as Dr. Toni Neva * [[Carl Esmond]] as Dr. Ritter von Stolb * [[Onslow Stevens]] as Igor Braun * [[Raymond Burr]] as Krebs * [[Art Baker (actor)|Art Baker]] as Dr. Frederick Townsend * [[Lowell Gilmore]] as Dr. William Forrest * [[Philip Van Zandt]] as Anton Radchek * Charles Evans as Dr. Homer Allen * [[Frank Ferguson]] as Carl Bemish * [[Reed Hadley]] as Narrator * [[Tamara Shayne]] as Mrs. Ecko (Landlady) * [[Ray Teal]] as Police Sergeant

==Production== The film was one of the first [[Cold War]] movies and was made specifically to exploit the new anti-communist sentiment in the country after [[World War II]]. Producer Edward Smalls hoped to repeat the success he recently had with the film noirs ''[[T-Men]]'' and [[Raw Deal (1948 film)|''Raw Deal'']]. It was director [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas']] first major production, after primarily making [[B movie]]s for [[MGM]].

The original title was ''Face of Treason'', which was later changed to ''FBI vs Scotland Yard''. [[FBI]] director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] requested it be renamed again,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Dennis O'Keefe Costar of Small's 'Dark Page;' Carmen, Wally Reunited|author=Scheuer, Philip K.|date=August 23, 1948|work=Los Angeles Times|page=11}}</ref> to ''FBI Meets Scotland Yard'', but Small wanted no official collaboration with the agency, who could be overly controlling on cinematic projects. Hoover was involved with a big 1945 hit ''[[The House on 92nd Street]]'', a movie about the FBI's pursuit and conquest of domestic [[Nazis]] that showcased the agency's methods and skills. By 1948, the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] hearings about [[communist]] influence on the country were underway and the FBI wanted a movie about this hot new topic, but Small refused to let Hoover co-produce the movie. Small also refused to grant the FBI power to approve the screenplay, so Hoover insisted all traces of the agency be removed from the film. Small refused once again, stating that fictional treatment of a public agency was legitimate. The only concession Small made was regarding the title and as a consequence ''The New York Times'' published a letter from Hoover disavowing any connection to the film and stating that he had not sanctioned it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Muller |first1=Eddie |title=Noir Alley: Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) Inro |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whH60cMKwo |website=You Tube |publisher=Tuner Classic Movies |access-date=May 28, 2022}}</ref>

[[Filming location|Exteriors]] are mostly from [[San Francisco]] but the film starts with exteriors shot in Brand Boulevard, [[Glendale, California]].<ref name="reelsf-1-red-scare">{{cite web |author1=CitySleuth |title=Walk A Crooked Mile - 1 - Red Scare |url=https://reelsf.com/reelsf/2019/8/13/walk-a-crooked-mile-red-scare |website=Reel SF |access-date=April 11, 2022 |date=August 18, 2019 |quote=San Francisco movie locations from classic films}}</ref><ref name="reelsf-9-pier-36">{{cite web |author1=CitySleuth |title=Walk A Crooked Mile - 9 - Pier 36 |url=https://reelsf.com/reelsf/2020/3/29/walk-a-crooked-mile-pier-36 |website=Reel SF |access-date=April 11, 2022 |date=March 29, 2020}}</ref>

==Reception== When the film was released, ''[[The New York Times]]'' film critic, [[Bosley Crowther]], while giving the film a mixed review, wrote well of the screenplay, "No use to speak of the action or the acting. It's strictly routine. But the plot is deliberately sensational."<ref>[http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9407E0D81F3EE53ABC4B52DFB6678383659EDE Crowther, Bosly]. ''The New York Times'', film review, October 13, 1948. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.</ref>

The staff at ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' gave the film a favorable review, writing that the "Action swings to San Francisco and back to the southland, punching hard all the time under the knowledgeable direction of Gordon Douglas. On-the-site filming of locales adds authenticity. George Bruce has loaded his script with nifty twists that add air of reality to the meller doings in the Bertram Millhauser story. Dialog is good and situations believably developed, even the highly contrived melodramatic finale. Documentary flavor is forwarded by Reed Hadley's credible narration chore."<ref>[https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117796175?refcatid=31 ''Variety''], film review. September 2, 1949. Last accessed: February 27, 2011.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0040947|title=Walk a Crooked Mile}} * {{TCMDb title|id=27563|title=Walk a Crooked Mile}} * {{AFI film|id=25797|title=Walk a Crooked Mile}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walk A Crooked Mile}} [[Category:1948 films]] [[Category:1940s spy thriller films]] [[Category:American anti-communist propaganda films]] [[Category:American spy thriller films]] [[Category:1948 English-language films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:Cold War spy films]] [[Category:Film noir]] [[Category:Columbia Pictures films]] [[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]] [[Category:Films produced by Edward Small]] [[Category:1948 drama films]] [[Category:Films scored by Paul Sawtell]] [[Category:Films directed by Gordon Douglas]] [[Category:1948 American films]] [[Category:English-language spy thriller films]]