Evening star., 1948-10-01

Hollywood mas whipped uE
another of those shivery.. semi
documentary films in Walk A
Crooked Mile,'' new feature on the
Warner theater screen.
It relates the story of vulner-
able American scientist who traded
atom bomb and guided missile FORM
ulas to a group whose members
look remarkably like Russians. II
also relates how the FBI, with
spot of help from Scotland Yard
nabbed the lot of them before they
put the finishing touches upon theil
work with the final secret.
This, especially in terms OF to-
days headlines, is hot screen stuf1'
Don't think Columbia Pictures did
not have this in the back of its
mind when it produced Walk A
Crooked Mile" with Dennis O'Keefe
and Louis Hayward in the leading
roles.
As previous screen treatments OF
the subject have proved, the FBI
is dealing with a dramatically de-
vious set when it tackles the atom
bomb and guided missile group
These are scientific fellows who
are at home even with such cosmic
distractions as relatively. They
qualify as enemies before whom
even Superman might quail. Never
the less, the FBI's science. which
may not be so obscure or remote, is
still serviceable and tough. 1t gets
its man even when he Is the mental
giant type. The duel of wits Is
something.
The problem in Walk A Crooked
Mile" has a look of freshness about
it, which may be due to the fact
that all such material is too elusive
to be remembered from picture to
picture.
The screenplay's setting is South
ern California where, it seems, the
most secret Of secret information
is reaching a foreign power as fast
as it is developed in the heavily
guarded laboratory. The murder OF
an FBI agent sets the counter
espionage machine to working
It starts with the most frag-
mentary of evidence and is getting
virtually nowhere until a Scotland
Yard man (HaywarO shows up
with an oil painting. The painting
looks innocent enough on the sur
face, but detection equipment spies
out q secret formula linked into the
canvass beneath the artists pig
ments.
The FBI and Scotland Yard man
agree this is a neat trick, but in
stead OF wasting time admiring the
artist, they set out to locate him
This done, their next step is to find
out from whom within the inner
laboratory circle, he gets his infor-
nation.
This is an intricate process
which it would be treason against
hollywood to reveal, but it is
strongly favored with suspense and
a disquieting sense that this time
the FBI may be up against minds
a bit too clever for 1t. What Is
happening, of course, is merely that
Director Gordon Douglas is being
clever in building his picture.
He Is not being original, just
dramatically effective, in setting up
his cameras in harmless looking
streets, shabby boarding houses,
third class restaurants, and even In
the steamy back room of one of
those chromium faced modern
laundries.
A few more equally revealing
shots of similarly innocent looking
places and there will be nothing
for any of us to do but suspect
everything, including the delicates-
sen on the corner.
II 4
Violence is kept at a reasonable
minimum in Walk A Crooked
Mile" There is just enough of 1t
to indicate the hazard of modern
crime hunters lives. Its relative
absence, indeed, is part of the di-
rectors scheme to see that his
story's mood is sharpened by pas
sages of almost frivolous contrast
It works out as intended.
The acting in Walk a Crooked
Mile" is quite subordinate to the
story, kind of routine which merely
asks competence of the cast. 1t gets