Short Cut To Hell

1957 - Paramount Pictures
Directed By James Cagney

SYNOPSIS

A hitman (Robert Ivers) is double-crossed by the man (Jacques Aubuchon) who hired him to kill two city workers in Oakland. The hitman heads to Los Angeles to get revenge. On the train there he meets a young singer (Georgann Johnson,) who just happens to be the girlfriend of the head detective (William Bishop) who's after him.

MY THOUGHTS

A 'B'-movie remake of a film noir gem.

Short Cut To Hell is a remake of the 1944 film This Gun For Hire which starred Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Robert Preston. The remake lacks the pop, artistry, chemistry and the star-making performance of Alan Ladd.

The film is James Cagney's first and only effort as a director. He crafts a well paced film with tension building throughout. It's a wonder why he didn't direct another film. He shows some promise but it would have been better to see him tackle some more original material.

Cagney clearly shows he can handle actors. Robert Ivers is cold-as-ice as the hitman, exactly what you would expect from a real hitman. I found Georgann Johnson to be annoyingly cutesie in her role... almost to the point of being unrealistic, but it perfectly balances out Ivers' dour character. Johnson clearly went the opposite direction of Veronica Lake in the same role. In this Gun For Hire, Lake's character clearly falls in love-love with the hitman. Here, it's more of a motherly love.

Still despite it's good points, Short Cut To Hell is just a pale copy of a much stronger film.