''Loophole'' is a 1954 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

starring

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer) Barry Sullivan is ...

and Dorothy Malone. The film was directed by former editor

Harold D. Schuster Harold D. Schuster (August 1, 1902 – July 19, 1986) was an American editor and film director. In 1937, he made '' Wings of the Morning'', the first-ever three-strip Technicolor film shot in Europe. Among the better-known films that Schuste ...

. Mary Beth Hughes plays the film's ''

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype o ...

.'' It was shot in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and produced by

Allied Artists Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in ...

, a company that generally specialized in

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

Plot

A man posing as a bank examiner steals $50,000 from teller Mike Donovan's cash drawer. Because Donovan does not immediately report the shortage after he discovers it, he is accused of theft and fired by the bank. Donovan is prevented from finding other employment by Gus Slavin, an insurance investigator and former cop who informs each of Donovan's next employers that Donovan is a thief who should be fired. Because of Slavin's intimidation, Donovan loses the few jobs that he is able to obtain, followed by his home and nearly his marriage. Despite many setbacks, Donovan tries to clear his name, but even his wife does not believe that he will succeed. However, the real culprit is identified and Donovan reclaims his life and his old job.

Cast

as Mike Donovan * Dorothy Malone as Ruthie Donovan *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Gus Slavin *

Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the United States Army ...

as Neil Sanford * Mary Beth Hughes as Vera *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as Herman Tate * Dayton Lummis as Jim Starling * Joanne Jordan as Georgia Hoard *

John Eldredge John Eldredge (born June 6, 1960 in Los Angeles) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. He is known for his best-selling book '' Wild at Heart''. Life and work Eldregde received his undergraduate degree in theater from ...

as Frank Temple * Richard Reeves as Pete Mazurki / Tanner

Reception

Film noir analysis

Film critic Dennis Schwartz explains why ''Loophole'' is considered a film noir: "The poignancy of the story is in how an innocent, hard-working person like Mike, could have his whole life turned upside-down over an incident where he makes an error in judgment. When he tells his boss (Lummis) about it, he has no explanation why he didn't report it immediately except he couldn't understand how so much money was missing. This slip-up is why Mike becomes a ''noir'' protagonist, though he doesn't have the dark side to his character this genre usually calls for... ndhis life turns into hell when, even though he is not charged with anything, the bonding company that must insure him cancels his certification and the bank is forced to fire him. Not only can't he get bonded so he can get another teller's job, but the bond company puts a mean-spirited insurance investigator on his tail, Gus Slavin (Charles McGraw). Slavin is convinced Mike is guilty and tails him everywhere, and when Mike gets a job he informs the boss on him and Mike is always promptly fired."Schwartz, Dennis
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews,'' film review, May 24, 2000. Last accessed: January 12, 2008.

References

External links

* * * * {{Harold D. Schuster 1954 films 1954 crime drama films American mystery films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films directed by Harold D. Schuster Films scored by Paul Dunlap American crime drama films Allied Artists films 1950s American films