Lizabeth Scott

(On Cable TV, September 2022) I’d like to be more positive about Dead Reckoning, but some films are just okay and that’s it. Which is unfortunate, considering that it has a lot of elements that should have worked better together: A complex film noir plot blending crime and romance, the presence of Humphrey Bogart in a period of his career where he could do little wrong in a role that was adjacent to his usual tough-guy persona; the luscious Lizabeth Scott in full husky femme fatale mode and some fine production values—it was clearly made to ape then-recent successes such as To Have and Have Not (Scott filling in for Lauren Bacall), but without the top-notch talent and magical chemistry that made those earlier films a success. We’re still left with a more-than-decent film noir in execution—Bogart does what he did best and Scott seems custom-made to play a dangerous woman. But it doesn’t make as much of an impression, nor feels all that striking once everything is said and done: The revenge plot may be just a bit too scattered and convoluted to land well (maybe due to plot holes and contrivances), while the cinematography is, again, fine without being impressive. Dead Reckoning will do for those Bogart and/or noir fans who have seen everything else and just want more of their favourites—but no more.