Kansas City Confidential (1952)

(On TV, August 2020) Considering how often film noir and heist movies have been remade, remixed and ripped off, it’s a weird feeling to find a classic Hollywood crime film that almost feels original. I settled down to watch Kansas City Confidential convinced that I was in for another 1950s noir heist film, but it turns out that the film is far more concerned with the tortured aftermath of its opening robbery than the crime itself. Better yet—this is almost a film in which the criminals must chase down the police to solve the crime. The mastermind’s brilliant idea to hire criminals for his crimes and frame an average man for it spectacularly backfires when said everyman becomes obsessed with uncovering the real culprits. Crisply shot and featuring actors with the tough faces and rough voices required for the material, Kansas City Confidential is a well directed by Phil Karlson. It plays with notions of injustice and hope even as its less-than-honourable characters jockey for a pile of cash. Lee van Cleef is notable in a small role, but the best performance here goes to John Payne as an ex-con trying to bring justice. The production values aren’t all that high, but as far as film noirs go, Kansas City Confidential is fun to watch and, surprisingly, still a bit original seven decades later.