The Big Combo

The Big Combo (1955) is director Joseph H. Lewis' black-and-white film noir. According to film critics, this film stands with others like Fritz Lang's The Big Heat as one of the great film noir classics. This dark film is a tormented story of violence and dangerous obsession. Photographed by cinematographer and noir icon John Alton (who worked on I, the Jury; He Walked by Night) with music by David Raksin. Actors Wallace and Wilde were married when the film was shot.

Critical reaction

Reviews of the movie today are mostly positive. Chris Dashiell on the website Cinescene finds the dialog "run of the mill" but praises the films director:

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"... Lewis had a remarkable ability to infuse poetry into the most banal material, and The Big Combo is one of his best efforts... it's not as startlingly inventive as Lewis's best film, Gun Crazy (1949), but it's a quality B-film, satisfying and dark."

Related Topics:
Gun Crazy - B-film

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