Tight Spot (1955)

(On Cable TV, July 2022) Ginger Rogers is not usually associated with film noir, but like many actresses active during the 1940s–1950s, her filmography does include at least one related title. She’s the lead in Tight Spot, a film that makes more sense the more you know about the organized-crime trials of the early 1950s, where some witnesses had an unfortunate tendency of dying before testifying and when gangster moll Virginia Hill left an indelible impression on the national psyche after her appearance in front of the Kefauver Committee. But even if you’re not aware of this, Tight Spot still has some appeal. Much of the action is focused on a hotel suite where Rogers, playing a high-value witness, is cajoled by police (led by a character played by Edward G. Robinson) in agreeing to testify against a mob boss. But the big complication is the crooked cop (Brian Keith) in their midst, weighing his growing attraction to the witness against orders from the mob to facilitate her murder. Part of the film is familiar, but it works rather well—and you can’t underestimate the interest in seeing Rogers go for a hard-boiled moll with a smart mouth. A good leading cast, combined with a fun script and some efficient direction from Phil Karlson, combine to make Tight Spot a decent-enough thriller of the noir era—not perfect (it could have been a bit snappier in the middle) and maybe a bit too sparse in its characters, but still something worth watching to the end.