A while ago, I dissected the movie Overexposed, which is a film about an attractive blonde woman who is trying to make it in the photography business. This movie has really nothing to do with Hit and Run story wise, but they still feel similar to me because Cleo Moore is in both of them. Although appearing to be little more than a bootleg Marilyn Monroe at first glance, she puts on an exciting and heartfelt performance in this film alongside Hugo Haas, who also directed. The reason why the film has its title isn't revealed until later, but it ends up being the focal point of its story. The movie begins with Gus Hilmer (Haas), the owner of a junkyard, drinking with the beautiful woman named Julie (Moore), whom he meets in a bar. Even though the girl is only a fraction of Gus' age, he's determined to get her anyway. They eventually marry, but almost instantly, their relationship seems to be falling apart. Frankie (Vince Edward), a mechanic who works at a gas station outside of where Gus lives, tries to convince Julie behind Gus' back that he's no good and she needs to get as far away from him as possible. Frankie has worked for Gus for years and knows all his habits. One day, Frankie announces to Gus that he quits, leaving Gus perplexed, since he always treated him well. One night, Julie gets into a car with Frankie at his request as the latter drives towards a new house Gus owns. Frankie sees who he thinks is Gus standing outside and, without any remorse, runs him over. Back at the junkyard, Julie is crying hysterically, but Frankie tries to tell her that Gus had to be dealt with and more importantly, she's involved with a crime now for being in Frankie's car. Frankie says as long as they both keep cool, the crime will never be traced to them, since the car used in the murder is now untraceable salvage laying in the junkyard somewhere. After Julie gets questioned by the cops and says she doesn't know why her husband is dead, Gus' twin brother shows up to ask about his brother's death. Gus' brother has an unusual demeanor, and tells Julie in private that he's not convinced Gus' demise was accidental. Still, he proceeds to praise whoever killed him, since Gus did not visit him during the 7 years he was in prison. Frankie and Julie admit to each other that Gus' brother's behavior makes them uncomfortable, and Julie is facing the gutwrenching possibility that her new lover may have killed the wrong person. This person who Frankie thinks is Gus' brother acts too similarly to Gus. Later, a circus arrives in town, and Frankie is caught by Julie as he tries to talk to a nice looking lion tamer with dark hair. This sours his relationship with Julie. Meanwhile, Julie and Frankie try to drink alcohol with Gus' brother while his parole officer is present, even though Gus' brother said he can't drink hard liquor. In a drunken state, he says he saw the car that ran over his brother, and that there was a woman inside. Breaking into a cold sweat, Julie yells out he's lying. She's now convinced there's no way this person isn't Gus, so she asks him to unbutton his shirt to see if he has the distinguishing scar on his chest that her former husband did. Sure enough, "Gus' brother" has the scar. Frankie tries to escape, but the house is already surrounded. As he and Julie are led away by the police, the lion tamer shows up asking for Gus to share a few drinks with her. I really like this movie. I find it funny that more often than not I end up thinking obscure, mediocre rated films like this are more enjoyable than high production value classics with people like Bogart or Jimmy Stewart. I've never seen a noir that takes place in and around a junkyard before, so this probably increased its appeal for me. Just like in Overexposed, Cleo is a spectacle here, and while basically every kiss she shares with Frankie throughout the film is unwilling, I bet most people just watched this movie to see her. I liked her so much I was actually disappointed to see her arrested at the end. She learns the hard way that while being bad is usually more fun than being good, you're not supposed to let yourself become bad. As for negatives, I thought that Gus/Gus' brother was a pretty obnoxious character and was glad to him get whacked. There's just something about his voice that annoys me. In general though, I felt that Hit and Run is a worthwhile noir for people who enjoy what I like to call "reverse noirs", since most of the time, a man is roped into an unenviable situation because of a woman he likes. Here, it's the other way around.
Review of Hit and Run
