Decent people struggling for keeping things going are suddenly tempted by a large amount of money coming from a long gone robbery. With its moral ambiguity and twists and the main focus on character development the writing and acting of "Private Hell 36" is above ordinary crime movies from that period. It is exactly what makes this early Don-Siegel-flick a true film noir despite a conservative crime movie posing as one. If you don't expect too much action and can relax while watching a slow paced middle section, which builds up tension carefully and therefore convincing, this one will give you a very enjoyable watch. Forget about the voice-over at the very end telling something about "good cops, bad cops", because that was simply the way they had to handle things in the fifties to avoid censorship. Besides the fact that Howard Duff appears a little too stiff once in a while, Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran and Dorothy Malone make it a real fine treat. I also liked the jazzy score - typical for that period on one hand, but perfectly creepy and surprisingly "modern" on the other.
It is very obvious to me that Stanley Kubrick was highly inspired by this one for his very own sensational film noir "The Killing" that came out the year after. The race track as a central location, money blown out of an opened suitcase, a trailer park as a hiding place and especially the Ida-Lupino-character, which is very close to the one of Marie Windsor in "The Killing", brought that suggestion immediately up to my mind. In comparison to other movies at IMDb "PH 36" seems a bit underrated to me, maybe because everybody's expecting crime movies to be extremely fast paced as those that are made since the early 70's. In fact "Private Hell 36" is a grim little noir and for its fans that does mean something else. 8/10
It is very obvious to me that Stanley Kubrick was highly inspired by this one for his very own sensational film noir "The Killing" that came out the year after. The race track as a central location, money blown out of an opened suitcase, a trailer park as a hiding place and especially the Ida-Lupino-character, which is very close to the one of Marie Windsor in "The Killing", brought that suggestion immediately up to my mind. In comparison to other movies at IMDb "PH 36" seems a bit underrated to me, maybe because everybody's expecting crime movies to be extremely fast paced as those that are made since the early 70's. In fact "Private Hell 36" is a grim little noir and for its fans that does mean something else. 8/10