''Desperate'' is a 1947 suspense film noir directed by Anthony Mann and featuring Steve Brodie,

Audrey Long Audrey Gwendoline Long (April 14, 1922 – September 19, 2014) was an American stage and screen actress of English descent, who performed mainly in low-budget films in the 1940s and early 1950s. Some of her more notable film performances are in '' ...

, Raymond Burr, Douglas Fowley,

William Challee William John Challee (April 6, 1904 – March 11, 1989) was an American actor. Biography Challee was born in Chicago and was a student at Lake View High School. Challee appeared on Broadway by 1926 and by 1931 in early Group Theatre produc ...

and

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

Plot

Steve Randall (Brodie) is an independent trucker who is hired by an old friend to haul some freight. Only when Steve arrives at the warehouse does he discover he has been hired to haul away stolen goods. Steve wants no part of the plot and resists, but a cop is killed as they're committing the burglary, and all except one manage to get away. Later, after kidnapping and assaulting Steve, the criminals, led by Walt Radak (Burr), threaten to mutilate Randall's wife (Long) unless Steve confesses to the murder committed by Radak's brother, captured during the theft and sentenced to death for the cop-killing. Steve plays along with the criminals just long enough to escape. He takes his wife and leaves town, heading cross country. The couple are then pursued by both the cops and the crooks. Steve then discovers his wife is pregnant with their first child, making the stakes even higher that they get away to safety.

Cast

* Steve Brodie as Steve Randall *

as Mrs. Anne Randall * Raymond Burr as Walt Radak * Douglas Fowley as Pete Lavitch, Private Eye *

as Reynolds * Jason Robards Sr. as Det. Lt. Louie Ferrari *

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

as Shorty Abbott * Lee Frederick as Joe Daly * Paul E. Burns as Uncle Jan *

Ilka Grüning Ilka Grüning (born Ilka Henriette Grunzweig; 4 September 1876 – 11 November 1964) was an Austrian-Hungarian actress. Born in Vienna in the old Austrian-Hungarian Empire, she was one of many Jewish actors and actresses that were forced to fle ...

as Aunt Klara

Home media

Warner Bros. released the film on DVD on July 13, 2010, in its ''Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5''.Abrams, Simon
'' Slant Magazine'', "Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 5". July 20, 2010. Accessed: August 1, 2013.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desperate 1947 films 1947 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films 1940s chase films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films directed by Anthony Mann RKO Pictures films Trucker films American chase films Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1940s American films