Product: The Big Combo [VHS] (1955)
Rating: 5.0
Unspoken repression and graphic violence!
There is a clear and obvious sense of fatalism , hopeless and perverse sexuality found in the Big Combo ; and this is an interesting detail due it exists in just a few noir films .The dramatic square presents the female vertex Susan Lowell a very disturbed woman emotionally invalid who needs emotional support ; she swims in two waters : the local mob Mr. Brown and eventually Leonard Diamond .Leonard Diamond is profoundly obsessed and determined to see Brown imprisoned but you feel an obvious unspoken attraction for Susan and her behavior will accent his sexual frustration.Mr. Brown is the hog mobster . His philosophy is evident : "First is first and second is nobody" . Despite his amoral attitude his character is direct violent without any doubt or nostalgic behavior .Finally we have the suggested male couple Mingo and Fante who make the dirty job for Diamond `s torture .Striking contrasts between the glorious black and white and Lewis sexual overtones make of this film a superior and original noir film in the more creative decade of this genre in the cinema story which by itself means too much.