4 Star

Doomsday Breakout

When it comes from the pen of Sydney Boehm (The Big Heat, The Atomic City) you know you are in for a great tale. Directed by Hugo Fregonese (My Six Convicts, Savage Pampas) who brings out the brooding and ferocity of his leading man Edward G. Robinson (Double Indemnity, Key Largo) and a cracking support cast to boot. A Film-Noir for your monochrome film shelf.

Only the worst criminals end up on death row, and the most vocal of these criminals is Vincent Canelli (Edward G. Robinson), a man convicted of seventeen murders and racketeering. The Newspaper headline declares that Canelli must die, and in the next cell is bank robber and murderer Peter Manning (Peter Graves, Airplane!, Stalag 17). He is trying to do a deal to get his death sentence commuted to life in prison, if he hands over the location of the $200,000 he stole. But they are only offering him ten more days on death row. No Deal!

May he roast in peace.

They both face the electric chair and they are both going tonight. Canelli gives it all the tough man act taunting the guards as Manning calmly builds a model of a bridge from matchsticks. But one guard, John Norris (James Bell, The Spiral Staircase, I Walked with a Zombie) is nice to the inmates, due to the fact that Canelli’s girl Hatti (Jean Parker, Little Women, The Gunfighter) has been working on the outside on a plan to spring them free tonight. Hatti and Canelli’s gang have kidnapped John’s daughter Ellen (Sylvia Findley, Robbers’ Roost), and also rookie reporter Frank Carson (Jack Kelly, Forbidden Planet, Maverick (TV Series)). They have replaced him with one of their gang and sent him to cover the execution with the other reporters. John has smuggled in a revolver and planted it under Carson’s allotted chair.

They make a break as they come into the electric chair room. With the keys, they let out the rest of the death row inmates and grab the priest Father Slocum (Milburn Stone, Sky Patrol, The Gamblers), a guard, and Dr. Hart (Vic Perrin, Star Trek (TV Series), Mission Impossible (TV Series)), but their escape doesn’t go smoothly, as Manning is shot and unconscious. Canelli wants his money so the Dr is the most valuable member of this escape and everybody else is at the mercy of Canelli’s wrath.

What will be the outcome of this escape?

Since the 1920s Edward G. Robinson has been portraying cop killers and now in the 1950s he has perfected that snarl and controlled violence. A must own for the film-noir buff in the house.

BLACK TUESDAY (Masters of Cinema) Limited Edition is available on Blu-ray

LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:

 

Limited edition of 2000 copies

Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow

1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K scan of the 35mm fine grains Optional English subtitles

A brand-new audio commentary with film noir expert Sergio Angelini, host of the Tipping My Fedora podcast

From Argentina to Hollywood – a brand-new interview with film historian Sheldon Hall on director Hugo Fregonese

No Escape – A brand new video essay by Imogen Sara Smith, author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City

Brand new video interview with critic and co-director of Il Cinema Ritrovato Ehsan Khoshbakht

Theatrical trailer

PLUS:A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Black Tuesday by critic Barry Forshaw and film writer Craig Ian Mann