The Lineup - 1958

I admit, I got sucked in by the poster on this one. I wasn't really planning on paying much attention to it, but it pulled me in a bit. It wasn't the most tense and amazing movie I've ever seen, but I didn't feel like I'd completely wasted my time, either.

It's San Francisco, and the action starts right off the bat. A ship has just arrived, a porter runs up to a cab and throws it through a window, the cab screeches away, gets into a wreck, runs over a policeman trying to flee, then gets shot and crashes into a pole. Very exciting! They discover heroin in the suitcase (thanks lab man who does the incredibly scientific thing of tasting it). The mob apparently is using random passengers to mule the stuff in. They've hired the assassin Dancer, who has a keeper (?) to retrieve the latest shipment.

He is so great at being an assassin. He goes around being seen all over the place, and then waits at the drop off point to explain how a little girl used a crap ton of heroin to powder her dolly's face. Then he loses his temper and kicks the wheelchair man so that he falls through the railing down onto the ice rink. Genius! At the end, he magically gets away by appearing to be shot because an obvious dummy falls off the freeway to the street below. I'm kidding - he's dead.

Also, shout out to mother of the year. She gets a ride from complete strangers with her child and invites them into her home. After that, I don't blame her too much for complying, but then, when assassin-man is pulling the child away, the woman doesn't even try to open the car door to get to her child. She just keeps reaching through the window. I think she should've tried to escape at the museum/ice rink place because keeper-man didn't have a gun, but what do I know? Maybe she was incapable of operating a car door.

I know I'm giving this movie a hard time, but it was pretty entertaining. I was amused by it. RIP to the real victims here - Moore the policeman and ice rink man (who had a dude in a wheelchair fall on him). I didn't feel quite as bad for the others. Never try to blackmail the criminal underworld, and a culinary set is not worth your life.

Apparently, this is based on a TV show. I've never heard of it, but I don't see myself tracking it down and watching it. It ran for a pretty decent amount of time, too! I might actually put this movie on again if I need some background noise, just because it's the kind of mindless entertainment I like when I need to get stuff done. I didn't need to pay too much attention, and I had a good time. It won't be for everyone, but I'm giving it a Good Movie! review.