CRIME WAVE (1953)

In this is a very good, little (73 minutes) film noir, Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson), ex-con trying to go straight, is a target for a trio of San Quentin escapees headed by Doc Penney (Ted deCorsia, Eternal Thug with Brains), who want him to steal a plane and fly them to Mexico after a bank robbery. They hold his wife (Phyllis Kirk, very pretty) hostage. Steve's in a tight spot because thuggish, unforgiving LAPD Det. Lt. Sims (Sterling Hayden) has him in his sights. You can sign me up for anything with Hayden in it, and he doesn't disappoint. The ensemble cast, including Charles Buchinsky (later Bronson, who has a significant role), Jay Novello and crazy Timothy Carey, can't be beat. Director Andre De Toth, another of Hitler's gifts to America, keeps the action taut in the film noir tradition, and it gets lots of authenticity from its filming on the streets of LA. A winner.