The Chase (1946) [Film Noir]

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The Chase (1946) is an American film noir, shot in black and white, directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay (adapted by Philip Yordan) is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear.

This dream-like film noir is about Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings), a World War II vet now a penniless drifter tormented by bizarre dreams, who takes a job as driver to Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), a vicious gangster. Roman tests his new driver, Scott, by assuming control of his car from the back seat. Unbeknownst to Scott, Roman has an accelerator installed in the rear passenger compartment so that he can “take over” the vehicle whenever he wants. This bizarre trick not only unnerves his new driver but also Roman’s right-hand man, Gino (Peter Lorre).

Scott passes the test and gets the job. But things get tough for Scott when he falls in love with the gangster’s wife, Lorna (Michele Morgan), who has attempted to kill herself because life has become unbearable with her sadistic husband. The two run off together to Cuba and a bizarre chase begins wherein Scott is framed for a murder and must therefore avoid both Roman and the police. Finally, at a point when Scott is able to clear his name, he is thrown back into the nightmare in a surprising twist.

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Directed by Arthur Ripley, produced by Seymour Nebenzal, screenplay by Philip Yordan, story by Cornell Woolrich (novel “The Black Path of Fear”), starring Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, Steve Cochran.

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Source: “The Chase (1946 film)” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 21 June 2012. Web. 7 July 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(1946_film).

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38 Replies to “The Chase (1946) [Film Noir]”

  1. Make sure the Wikipedia article is read to better explain.things. Don Wilson was the lsmft announcer on the Jack Benny radio program, and Robert Cummings had his TV show on early TV. Schultzie was his hilarious assistant, and died not that long ago, Ann Davis, I think. If I am too old for this crowd, then too bad, but I am a nostalgia fool, and thanks for that tip about the '41 Cadillac. Is anybody older than 71? I enjoyed your kibitzing
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  6. The film noir – the greatest chapters in the history of cinema! Starting with the 1930 and 1955's film noir created by great directors and actors of high class! Which of the current actors can now replace Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, and Edmond O' Brian …? No one! There are no such persons, who could now mimic film noir. America, as most of these films belong to the film companies of the country, created a fashion, clothes, hats, cigars, whiskey, cars, sparkling night of advertising, casinos, restaurants, and so forth, just yet created ideal breeding ground for crime novels, which served the script for the black-and-white films. Prohibition has created a mafia and gangsters, in their turn became the heroes of many "black" films. The great director Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, John Huston, Robert Siodmak, Rudolph Mate, Billy Wilder and Otto Perminger, Raoul Walsh, Jean Negulesco, Edward Dmytryk, …….. they are not repeatable !!! See the film noir. About 200 of the immortal masterpieces of world cinema! Long live the film noir !!! My eternal love of film noir !!!

  14. Have been trying to find an old movie poss 40s /50s black and white. all i can remember about it is, 2 boys are running away for some reason one american called tony saunders and the other boy is a japanese, it ends up there on a roof right at the edge. have been googling all kind of names iam sure its —– in japan or —— japanese adventure ??? nothing is showing up anyone know ?

  17. I love Michele Morgan. She was fantastic as the heartless and soulless "ice princess" in the great French film noir "Retour De Manivelle" based on a novel by James Hadley Chase ("There's Always A Price Tag").

  30. "adapted by Philip Yordan" … ah, but was it?

    Yordan was a very interesting guy. He was known to hire surrogates and claim the screen credit and later on he hired a number of blacklisted writers and sometimes would use his own name to cover for them.

  32. I can see no benefit in having rear gas and brake and speedometer. But without a steeringwheel. If you can't steer you would have to depend on the driver in the front seat.All of this redundancy tends to give me a migrain headache…!!This shit happens all of the time.When will it stop???

  34. Thanks for uploading these wonderful movies from cinema history — the hayday of movies that are entertaining without vile language, acts — and tap into your inner sense of the themes without distraction (i.e., color LOL) Keep them coming!!

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