Paul Wendkos

(On Cable TV, July 2021) Perhaps best characterized as a better-than-average middle-tier film noir, The Burglar takes a familiar crime premise (thieves on the run after a robbery getting increasingly uncomfortable with each other) and gives it a spin that’s both stylish and regional. Much of the film was shot on location in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, giving it a welcome difference from the usual California or New York City noir. Director Paul Wendkos also does much to give his own spin on standard material, with a newsreel opening, unusual camera angles and a stronger sense of camerawork than many contemporaries. Much of The Burglar’s claim to fame (and its reason for being released by a big studio years after its regional production) is starring a pre-stardom Jayne Mansfield, along with noir veteran Dan Duryea. Still, the film holds up reasonably well on its own — it doesn’t have mordant dialogue or memorable plotting (although the amusement park finale works rather well), but it executes its premise well enough to be entertaining.