One Way Street (1950) User Reviews

I hate the Production Code

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 13 June 2016]

....which ruined the ending of this movie.

"One Way Street" from 1950 stars James Mason, Marta Toren, Dan Duryea, and William Conrad. Mason plays Dr. Frank Matson, a mobster, John Wheeler's (Duryea) doctor. It isn't clear why the doctor isn't in practice; one assumes he botched an operation or something.

Matson steals $200,000 from Wheeler by telling him he has just given him poison, and that he'll call in one hour with the antidote. He then leaves with the money and Wheeler's girlfriend Laura (Toren). They wind up in a small village in Mexico where the two become fixtures - Matson provides medical care for the people and animals, and Laura says it's the only place she has ever felt safe.

However, Wheeler is looking for them, so Matson makes a tough decision.

Well the code wrecked the end of this film. I was very disappointed.

Someone commented that Mason was miscast - he certainly has a lot of class and expertise for a mob doctor, who are usually drunks whose hands shake. Marta Toren was so beautiful, but she died at the age of 31. Tragic. Dan Duryea is his usual mean self, and William Conrad is on hand as a fellow thug.

Good movie except for...the end.

Great beginning, pretty good ending. Too bad about the middle

[bmacv · 7/10 · 27 December 2003]

One Way Street opens beautifully. Sirens shriek through the Los Angeles nightscape while, from the window of an apartment building, an elegant woman (Marta Toren) smokes as she watches them disappear. She reports her observations to Dan Duryea, who has just masterminded a big heist. One of his lieutenants (William Conrad), however, has taken a bullet, which gang-sawbones James Mason is summoned to extract. He does so, meanwhile launching a ploy by which he departs not only with all the loot but with Toren – Duryea's moll. Although fate almost deflects their escape, they finally cross the border to Mexico.

And here the movie settles in for a long siesta. Mason and Toren find themselves in a primitive village where Mason's medical skills are pressed into service (he cures a horse but can't save a little girl). There's plenty of warmed-over wisdom issuing from an itinerant priest (Basil Ruysdael) and plenty of danger from bandidos who keep cropping up, swigging mezcal while wiping their lips with the backs of their hands and eying Toren up, down and sideways. Despite these distractions, she seems to like it there and wants to stay, but Mason wants to press on to Mexico City (and their divergent goals and low-key temperaments serve to keep the romance distinctly cool).

This snooze is interrupted a couple of times by cuts back to Los Angeles, where Duryea and Conrad are bent on recouping the money – and on revenge. But only when Mason returns to have a face-to-face reckoning with Duryea does the movie spring back to life. And in a rhyme of its earlier, unexpected intervention, fate proves that it always has the last word.

One Way Street was the first feature in English by the Argentinian-born director Hugo Fregonese, who stayed in Hollywood long enough to churn out a few westerns and genre-pictures (Man In The Attic, one of the many versions of The Lodger was his work). From the bookends that open and close One Way Street, he had a feel for the look and pace of film noir, but the thick volume of Mexican folklore they surround turns out to be a not very film-worthy property.

A defrocked doctor

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 13 May 2015]

In the Citadel Film series book on The Films Of James Mason, Mason himself said that he was never told by viewers that they saw this film or was ever questioned about it. I guess that One Way Street might be overlooked in the big budget films that would shortly follow in his career. That's a pity because this one is a good, but fatalistic noir film, something along the lines of Odd Man Out.

In One Way Street Mason is a doctor whose practice is on the wrong side of the law, patching up criminals and not reporting about it. We're never told brought him to this because no one starts this way in the field of medicine.

While on a house call to Dan Duryea's mob after they've pulled a heist, Duryea rides Mason once too often and through a rather ingenious bluff he winds up stealing the loot from a robbery the gang just pulled off. Not only that, he winds up stealing Marta Toren away from Duryea so Dan has two reasons for going after him.

Mason and Toren have to land in a remote village in Mexico when the plane they've chartered develops engine trouble. Even a defrocked doctor is welcome among these people where Mason and Toren settle and start to enjoy life a little, but life and the past do catch up.

Duryea's henchmen include William Conrad, King Donovan, and Jack Elam who are as scurvy a lot as you'll find. Basil Ruysdael who is always an authority figure of some kind is fine as the local priest at the village where Mason and Toren are staying. Look fast or you'll miss Rock Hudson in a bit role as a truckdriver with one line in the film.

Marta Toren who hoped to succeed both Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman as a cinema sensation from Sweden died tragically young. She never broke into A pictures in America, but she was for me one of the most beautiful women the big screen ever saw.

If your genre is noir you cannot go wrong with One Way Street.

One Way Street

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 26 November 2023]

I quite enjoyed James Mason's performance here as the calculating "Dr. Matson". He is frequently summoned to treat the hoodlums of gangster "Wheeler" (Dan Duryea) and during one such visit espies a bag, similar to his own, that contains $200,000 in stolen loot. After a bit of macho banter with his patient, he picks up the bag and makes for the door. He has given the boss some pills and any interference will prevent him from getting the antidote! This is the moment that moll "Laura" (Märta Torén) has been waiting for and she decides to abscond with the doctor. Their escape plan doesn't quite go to plan, though - a car and a plane accident - before they find themselves in a small town where his skills and their burgeoning love start to make them wonder if their master plan is still the best one. Meantime, though very much on the back burner, the mobsters are determined to avenge themselves on both of them. It does rather run out of steam with half an hour to go, and though the ending is actually quite fitting it was all just a little bit rushed and, I felt, frustrating! Still, there's some chemistry between the two and Basil Ruysdael's priest, a sick horse and some really lightweight banditos all play to the story quite well too. You'll probably not recall it afterwards, but it's a bit different.

A Delayed Appointment

[boblipton · 6/10 · 20 September 2019]

Dan Duryea and his gang have just pulled off a big haul. Doctor James Mason scoops the loot and Duryea's girlfriend, Märta Torén. The two fugitives head to Mexico City, but the plane they're in is forced down in a poor coastal village by a busted fuel pump. The canny and kindly local priest. Basil Ruysdael, talks them into staying and giving medical help to his parishioners. However, Duryea is still looking for them, for vengeance.

It's a well produced story of redemption, and Ruysdael steals the show. He was born in 1878 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA as Basil Spaulding Millspaugh. From 1910 through 1918, he was a bass-baritone for the Metropolitan Opera Company, before going on Broadway and then radio. His movie debut was in THE COCOANUTS in 1929. Aside from some voice-over work in shorts, he next was seen on the screen in 1949. He died in 1960.

Why did James Mason return when he had the $200,000?

[howardmorley · 6/10 · 6 October 2015]

I kept asking myself what and why James Mason playing a doctor was doing with a bunch of hoodlums instead of working in a mainstream State hospital or working in private practice.This point was never satisfactorily explained.He was far too sophisticated for this role and producers normally cast actors who play struck off doctors usually with an alcohol problem.As my summary suggests why did he at the end return for a face to face meeting with the hoodlums with the $200.000 intact? It was a neat trick to hide the revolver in the briefcase below the stolen money but what made him think he would have the time to reach for it, weren't the hoodlums going to kill him on sight in accordance with their oath?The female lead was attractive and thrived on sight in the Mexican setting.The Mexican bandidos were stereotypical/almost cartoonish Hollywood from the 1940s.I always like seeing Dan Duryea playing the "baddy" in films, he certainly got a lot of practice.William Conrad in his earlier roles played gangsters e.g, "The Killers" (1946) with Burt Lancaster but in later years played "Cannon" a private investigator.I was disappointed by the demise of James Mason's character at the end but as usual the 1950s Hollywood morality code would not allow criminals to profit from their crimes and I awarded it 6/10

Your interrupting my operation!

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 14 March 2015]

***SPOILERS*** Taking off to Mexico with his boss John Wheeler's, Dan Duryea, stolen $200,000.00 in cash as well as his girl Laura, Marta Toren, Frank "Doc" Manson, James Mason, is stopped in his tracks by one of Wheeler's hoods Arnie, Jack Elam, who snuck into his getaway car looking to rip him off. With "Doc" stepping hard on the breaks Arnie after falling backwards and getting pistol whipped by "Doc" ends up dead with a broken neck. This also changes "Doc's" plans as he and Laura get a used car to continue their flight to safety in Mexico with Wheeler in not knowing the car license number having no way to find him. Wheeler mad as hell and vowing revenge sends his top goon Ollie, William Conrad, to find both "Doc" and his unfaithful, in dropping him for "Doc", girlfriend Laura and give them the business:a bullet in the back of the head!

It's in the wilds of Mexico that "Doc" in seeing the abject poverty there decides to help both the people as well as animals living, as well as dying, there with his expertise in medicine. It's not long when "Doc" while preforming a delicate operation is confronted by a gang of Mexican bandits who noticed his rollex watch, worth some $10,000.00, and want to lift it off him. Convincing the head bandit to get operated on because he's been infected with deadly gangrene gives "Doc" enough time for him and Laura to be rescued by the local police who end up blowing him away.

****SPOLIERS**** Despite "Doc" & Laura being safe from Wheeler's goons in Mexico he together with her decides to go back to the states and give him back his $200,000.00 as a show of good will. This soon backfires when Ollie who's just had enough from Wheeler blasts him and decides to take all the stolen cash for himself when "Doc" shows up with it. Ridicules but at the same time unexpected ending with "Doc" now free from danger with both Wheeler and Ollie now history becomes history himself by , while crossing at night in a blinding rainstorm, looking the wrong way on a one way street!

When you steal the boss' money...you cannot leave him alive and wanting revenge.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 5 February 2016]

When the film begins, a bitter doctor (James Mason) is helping out an injured man who is the member of a mob gang. He isn't doing this out of any sense of duty...he wants money and the mob has plenty after pulling off their latest caper. However, in a surprise twist, the Doc steals their $200,000...as well as the gangster boss' girlfriend! The pair run south to Mexico...and you know the crazed boss (Dan Duryea) will eventually come running after them.

In the meantime, the couple get stranded in the middle of no where in a small town after their airplane develops engine trouble. After a while, the pair grow to like the place and the bitter doctor eventually finds he's a beloved and important part of the the community. They also begin to care for each other. But, as I already mentioned, the gang boss isn't about to let the pair have a happy ending if he can help it! And the Doc considers returning the money with the hope that the evil boss will just let them go.

With gang members like Duryea, William Conrad and Jack Elam, the casting director did a nice job in picking up some nasty and menacing folks to play the baddies. The script and acting are also quite nice. What I also appreciated was that the film was tough and when the two characters became nicer...they still had a hard edge and weren't over-idealistically good. Entertaining from start to finish and well worth seeing if you love film noir.

How the Production Code Ruins a Film - One Way Street

[arthur_tafero · 7/10 · 11 November 2021]

James Mason, Marta Toren, Dan Duryea, and William Conrad all do a wonderful job in this first-rate production of a doctor's misadventures after associating with the wrong kind of people. A few bad decisions is all it takes; that and the Production Code, which single-handedly ruined the end of this film. A doctor hatches a clever plan to rob thieves of their heist money, and takes the moll of gangster Duryea as well. As the two flee to Mexico, there is a turn of events and the good character of the doctor begins to emerge. I will not reveal the miserable ending to this potentially wonderful film, but suffice it to say that those who decided on this ending were merely cowards, and had not a trace of real humanity within them.

An Oreo in the disguise of a film noir.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 1 December 2012]

...All dark at the beginning and the end....and all cream in the middle....

James Mason is the doctor to a criminal mastermind (Dan Duryea) who escapes to Mexico after stealing from his boss, not only taking his money from a bank robbery, but his mistress (Marta Toren) as well. They find themselves stranded in a Mexican village where they are taken in by a kindly priest (Basil Ruysdael) and welcomed by the friendly townspeople. But destiny is calling for them to pay for their crimes, and after this variation of "Green Acres", they end up back in Los Angeles where fate deals its sometimes cruel hand.

As a film noir, this starts off most promisingly, but ends up being submerged in a rather stereotypical view of simple Mexican folk, all eager to welcome the gringos into their community. Of course, there are the overly curious youth who flock to them like ducks to water and the ever present threat of bandidos who harass these innocent folks. But overall, the Mexican scenes reflect a sweetness that somehow never rings true. It all becomes too much that you long for them to return home to face the music.

Mason and Toren give good performances, while Basil Ruysdael as the priest seems to be too saintly, even if he has a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Duryea plays his typical tough-talking gangster with William Conrad in one of his typecast 50's hoodlum roles. When the plot line is focusing on the dark streets of Los Angeles, it is gritty and raw. Unfortunately, the middle switches gears so drastically that it never regains momentum.

A very good film which would have been great except for the morbid ending.

[Strider-100 · 8/10 · 26 October 2020]

This movie was a joy to watch and James Mason really shines in his role as well as Dan Duryea, and William Conrad. I loved every minute until the very end which to me was so senseless. I won't give it away but this film would have been a ten out of ten had it not been for this mistake. It is still a very entertaining film.

James Mason shows that existentialism's absurdity happens.

[robtcohen · 7/10 · 24 September 2015]

Well, James Mason is smooth, handsome, and cultured with the classy accent from across the Atlantic pond. The synopses around these same websites do sort of spoil the story's suspense-fullness, but I'll try not to decapitate it too much. Wm Conrad was soon if not already Marshal Dillon in GUNSMOKE on the radio, as I'm of that vintage when childhood radio-listening was a pre-occupation. Dan Duryea is blah, bland, and bluh. Sorry, but I like that cruddy alliteration too much not to waste it out of context here, but Mr. Duryea at least has such an interesting surname. I recall brands and commercials from radio in the 1950s, but now back to film noire, a bleak French phrase that's over-utilized though you give us a more-better descriptive category. In Rock Hudson's brief role he sounds so d young. But no Doris Day, so it can't be the cornball if not pswaydo-sophisticate mid 1950s Rock Hudson technicolor movie. Read Bosley Crowther's hatchet/nasty review, because you'll see why he was one of a kind, before my time, and so now I realize why candid film critics are not invited to cocktail parties and funerals, unless it's the burial of an assassinated film critic.

Don't watch It

[varun_das · 1/10 · 4 September 2019]

Only for the presence of Dan Dureya it got one star. The most generic, cliched, boring noir movie you'll ever see. Horrible casting, predictable story line, utterly unconvincing plot- what else could you possibly want? This movie is helpless. If you are new to the genre check out all the noir movies rated above 7.5 on IMDB, and there are plenty of those.

The imponderable gets you anytime, it's enough to be alive!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 1 April 2024]

The Noir genre occasionally crossed the Mexico's frontier where the story takes place, but mostly of time with a bunch of American characters with a few Mexicans only, usually as bit players, I mean part of the backdrop so to speak, in One Way Street it's totally opposite, the producers used a massive of Mexican on the cast as secondary roles as few times, to the point to be called as Noir-Spaghetti by two key reasons, firstly by Hugo Fregonese on direction and lastly countless Mexicans on supporting casting, attached on a small Mexican Pueblo, it's a little intro over this thematic an unusual Noir picture.

The plot summarized consist in a post robbery at Los Angeles's apartment where the gang boss John Wheeler (Dan Duryea) is misleading by the cunning Dr. Frank Matson (James Mason) ends up stolen a bo.oty of 200.000 dollars cash and slipping away of the town bring together Wheeler's gorgeous escort girl Laura Thorsen (Martha Toren) and heading by small plane to Mexico City, nonetheless by gas pump's failure the pilot has been forced to landing in rural area, meanwhile expecting a pump's repairs in a weak or so they meeting a local friendly Father Moreno (Basil Ruysdael) who lodges them in nearby warm pueblo.

Soon the long awaiting allowing for to embittered Doctor a possibility to return in clinical practice again, even treating a sick mule, after a successful healing he turns your eyes to the careless people in town, often sponsored by the enthusiastic Father, backing on a pleasant way plenty, in other hand the charming Laura also finally figures out an easy mind in that peaceable village insofar has in touch with a welcoming smooth people, both finally get together in an veritable affair at last, thus wondering a quiet life there Dr. Frank is willing to be back the stolen money to easy the angry Wheeler, aiming for keep there forever in peace.

Too many posted here countless complains concerning the fatalist outcome, whereof I don't agree whatsoever, the storyline is full of holes as the brainer Boss Wheeler has been deceived by an implausible gimmick, he seems not so smart as he at the outset thought, over an British character to fill in this role I suppose that would be an native American guy could fits better than James Mason surely, anyway an fine entertainment at all.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

BOOK-ENDED BY BRUTAL BARE-BONES NOIR...MIDDLE SAGS...OVERALL OK BUT LACKING

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 9 April 2024]

It's a Film-Noir Entry in the Pivotal Year and Decade-Turn that had an Effect on the Spontaneous, Organic Formation of the Genre.

The Most Noticeable and Most Transformative is the "Move" Toward the "Police-Procedural" and also the Migration to the Suburbs and the Inclusion of Children in the Plot.

Although in this one, the "Move" is South of the Border where the Mexican Way of Life is in Sharp Contrast to the Dangerous, Doom-Laden Streets, Alleys, and High-Rises of Urban America.

It'a Contrast to Striking and Deep and the Film Flounders, Making an Unsuccessful Effort to Steer the Off-Course Plight of the Medical Doctor (James Mason), His Stolen Girl and Loot, back on the Straight-and-Narrow where All is Well.

The 1st and 3rd Acts are Cracker-Jack Film Noir, with Genre Icons Dan Duryea, Jack Elam, and William Conrad are On-Hand to Dish Out the Violence and Snap-Pat that Film-Noir Demands and it is as Good as it Gets.

Too Bad about that 2nd Act where things are Sunny, Hopeful, and Sweet. It's Not Bad On its Own, it does have a Slight Edge and some Highlights but Pales in Comparison to the Dark Goings-On in the Beginning and End.

That are so Good, it Makes the Movie Almost a Must-See. But at the Very Least, it's...

Worth a Watch.

James Mason as a disillusioned doctor finding life with the beauty of Marta Toren.

[clanciai · 10/10 · 25 February 2018]

James Mason has made many doctors on the screen, and they are all very thorough and interesting characters with some depth and usually some terrible problems, and this is no exception, but still this doctor is something different from the others. There is no suicidal tendencies here, no deadly jealousy and no call for some hero to engage and interfere, but rather an appointment with the inevitable. He is actually doomed from the beginning and aware of it, and he accepts the challenge and adapts himself to its consequences, while the lovely Marta Toren gilds it with her charming presence and personality, a fugitive from somewhere whom a gangster brought up (the always nasty and revolting brute Dan Duryea) for something of an ideal to himself, while she needs something better provided by James Mason.

The first scene is actually one of the most exciting in all the chonicles of the noirs, in unbearable suspension all the way up to the first inevitable car crash - there will be others. Also that first street of only one way will come back later.

There are many other gripping ingredients as well, the role of the padre, the village life, the local hoodlums and their berserk folly, the beautiful environment in contrast to the smoky and rainy gangster stinking darkness, and Frank Skinner's excellent music, perfectly suited to both the romantic situations and the pastoral idylls of Mexico.

In brief, it's a typical James Mason noir, and it could hardly be more typical. He played the same kind of character any number of times, but every time it's equally fascinating in its unfathomably attractive tragedy.

A Monotonic and Moronic Film

[CatherineYronwode · 1/10 · 14 April 2020]

My husband and i couldn't stand this movie.

A dull, toneless James Mason is a depressed British gang-doctor in Los Angeles. A Swedish actress is his passionless love-interest who has been kept captive by psycho gangster Dan Duryea since she was 14 years old. William Conrad is a fat, lazy thug. Jack Elam poses a threat. Rock Hudson delivers his tiny part handsomely.

So much for Los Angeles Noir. Suddenly, Viva Mexico!

Stereotyped Mexicans, including banditos, peasants, rapists, a priest, and a curandera! enact meaningless roles as guitars are softly strummed. There are goats. chickens, and a horse. The priest is wise. The village peasants are trusting, like little children. Some of them actually are little children.

We disliked this movie so much we watched the second half in little snippets, making fun of it as we skipped ahead. When it ended, we were glad.

The strange case of One Way Street

[pacificgroove-315-494931 · 5/10 · 5 October 2023]

I'll be brief, as several other reviewers here have pointed out some of the flaws with this movie. James Mason is miscast as the criminal gang doctor who finds redemtion in a Mexican village; he doesn't satisfyingly convey the doctor's reformation as a helpful healer. The last act of the movie is illogical, and the very ending a casualty of the Production Code. Why did they cast all of the Mexican roles with Latinos and cast the fairly large role of the priest to an Anglo actor, who unlike the others, speaks with no Mexican accent, and is obvously dubbed when he speaks some brief lines in Spanish? Why are several of the Mexican peasants, living in a very small rural town, fluent in English ? Why is Jack Elam not credited for his brief but important role?

Too disagree with one or another of the other reviews here, Rock Hudson's role lasts maybe ten seconds and consists of one line of dialog, totally unnotable if he were not to become Rock Hudson movie star. The cirematography is just fine, and the sound is in perfect sync, in the version I watched for free on Youtube in Oct. 2023. Dan Durea has a surprisingly small supporting role, and is less nasty, and less impressive than in many of his other films.

Lastly, Mara Toren is compelling and very beautiful in the Ingrid Bergman manner, but it's hard to believe her passion for James Mason, who is his usual emotionally strong but cold self in a role that calls for an actor who can portray some warmth and loving feelings.

Mason, Conrad try but cannot save production code-injected film

[adrianovasconcelos · 5/10 · 1 December 2020]

Director Fregonese has never made it anywhere near as much as the middle of my list of favorite directors, there is always some mediocrity about his work. In ONE WAY STREET he stitches together a mixed bag, part of which resembles a poor copy of TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948), notably the segment where Walter Huston saves a child in a Hispanic village.

Mason does a good job in the thankless part of Dr. Matson but he cannot rescue it from a poor script, pedestrian photography and the absence of a counterweight to his quality acting: Dan Duryea goes "missing in action" for so long that his role becomes meaningless. One question harried me to the end: How did Duryea survive Dr Matson's poison while the latter and Toren were in Mexico for about a year if we never see Duryea get the antidote?

Good thing that William Conrad provides the film's main surprise. Bad thing: Toren is physically gorgeous but her acting is substandard, and her lines below par.

Basil Ruysdael as Father Moreno gives some quality support to Mason, but the Mexican heavies struck me as unconvincing, if not downright naif.

I am a Mason fan and completist, so I am glad I saw it through but, as a whole, this production code venom-injected product does not deserve more than 5/10, especially because it becomes obvious that a happier ending would have made a difference. For the better, too!

One Way Street is a dead end.

[st-shot · 4/10 · 12 April 2024]

Johnny Wheeler (Dan Duryea) his moll (Marta Toren) and his gang of thugs have just pulled off a two hundred thou caper and are waiting for the rest of the boys to show to make the split. A defrocked doc Frank Mason (James Mason) plans otherwise and comes up with a daring plan to abscond with both cash and babe, though his main concern remains the cash. Flying off to Mexico their plane runs into engine trouble and they end up in a village where the doc reawakens to his vocation, tending to villagers and animals. Johnny meanwhile remains intent on evening the score.

Truncated at both ends, One Way Street is a diffuse mess with its abrupt opening and lack of background behind the sophisticated Mason mixing up with surly Duryea and his gang. Grossly miscast, he seems out of place and a poor fit in both of his environments. Marta Toren registers as the love interest while Duryea does his usual requisite venal simmering out for revenge.

Argentine director Hugo Fregonese direction is uninspired, visually bland andthe supporting performances outside of Basil Ruysdael, stereotypically rote and overwrought, especially in the hideout scenes. The sudden abrupt finish is a jarring cop out. Made during Mason's poor start in Hollywood and it shows.