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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: April 19th, 2016.
Director: Cyril Endfield
Cast: Frank Lovejoy, Kathleen Ryan, Richard Carlson, Lloyd Bridges
Year: 1950
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The Movies:
Also released as The Sound Of Fury, director Cyril Endfield's 1950 big screen version of Jo Pagano's novel may have landed the outspoken director in some hot water with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 1950s (he was essentially blacklisted and moved to England), but hot damn if it isn't still a powerful and really well made film (even if the HUAC declared it un-American!).
The film introduces us to Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy), a 'Joe Six Pack' type who is going through a rough patch. When he gives his son Tommy (Donald Smelick) fifty cents to go to a baseball game, his wife, Judy (Kathleen Ryan), assumes that he's found work, but sadly that's not the case. They are in dire straits. So when Howard stops in at a bowling alley for a cool, refreshing bottle of Miller High Life and gets to talking to a flashy, streetwise type named Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges), well, you can see how he might get talked into things. Jerry's got plenty of money and when he offers Howard a job working as his driver, Jerry takes it - even if it means waiting outside while Jerry runs in to knock over the odd gas station or convenience store.
Howard gets taken in by the money pretty quickly, and Judy, who is none the wiser, is thrilled with all that his new job 'at the cannery' is providing for the family. It's a shame that he's always working nights though, especially she's expecting. Howard winds up in over his head when Jerry's plan to kidnap the son of a rich guy goes wrong and that kid winds up dead. Now an accomplice to murder, Howard winds up out on a double date with Jerry, his girl Velma (Adele Jergens) and her friend Hazel (Katherine Locke). While Howard is wrestling with his conscience and very quickly realizing he's in way over his head, the town's top newspaper man, Gil Stanton (Richard Carlson), is writing some very damning pieces on the recent crime spree plaguing the town.
A scathing condemnation of manipulative journalism that plays just as well today (given that we are very much in an age of media manipulation) than it probably did in its original run, Try And Get Me is surprisingly grim stuff. So too is it very well made. Pagano's screenplay, taken from his own novel, does a fine job of properly building the key characters during the slower first half of the movie so that once it hall hits the fan - and it really does all hit the fan - the last half of the movie hits like a sledgehammer. We get to know Harold in interesting and important ways. We see how he's tender and kind to his wife but nervous as well, constantly asking her if she's feeling okay and in one scene where they lay in bed together, looking out the window with the corner of his eye. We know through body language like this that he's not cut out for crime the way that Jerry is, that's he's in this not for kicks but because he really does need the money. He's got a family to support. Frank Lovejoy plays the part well. His Harold is a reserved man. Proud to be a husband and a father and not one to go out with other girls behind his wife's back without feeling remorse for it. He tries to stop Jerry before he goes too far but he can't do it. He's an otherwise good man in a very bad spot and Lovejoy uses a lot of body language and subtle facial expressions to get across his mood more than he does sharp dialogue.
The flip side of this coin is Lloyd Bridges, whose Jerry is a complete psychopath. He's manipulative, forceful to a point, and he's remarkably good here - frightening even. You can see why a sad sack like Harold would be likely to go along with someone like Jerry. He's got everything that Harold does not - flash, style, great clothes, a winning way with the ladies and lots of disposable income. Bridges often played more genteel roles later in his career, or comedic parts, but here he's a force to be reckoned with and he steals almost every scene that he's in.
Richard Carlson is also very strong as the reporter whose words prove to have some pretty dire consequences later in the picture. It's interesting to see his character arc evolve. What is initially nothing more than an attempt to use his respected name to move newspapers soon turns into a morality play just as important to the outcome of the film as what Harold goes through. Adele Jergens as Jerry's girlfriend is also very good here, doing a fine job of portraying a sly unease whenever she's treated like the property her boyfriend sees her as.
It's pretty tense stuff, though provoking too. The black and white cinematography has plenty of style but not so much that it overshadows the narrative. You can see why this one might have ruffled a few feathers in its day.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Try And Get Me arrives on Blu-ray from Olive Films in a 1.33.1 transfer presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Detail here is quite strong though some very minor print damage is present throughout, mostly just some small scratches and specks rather than anything too drastic. There are some scratches that run from top to bottom over a few scenes but they're not super obvious. Grain is present throughout the presentation but it never gets so heavy as to distract from the generally solid detail and texture that the HD transfer offers. Black levels are really nice, quite strong, and contrast looks spot on. All in all this is a sharp and crisp image offering surprisingly good texture and contrast along with strong shadow detail. The movie looks quite good in HD, though it probably could have been cleaned up a bit more than it has been here.
The English language DTS-HD Mono Audio track on the disc is pretty good. The score sounds quite strong here and helps to really ramp up the tension in the last twenty minutes or so. The hardboiled dialogue stays crisp and clear, it's never a problem understanding any of the characters. There are no alternate language options or subtitles of any kind offered on this disc.
Aside from a static menu offering chapter selection, there are no extra features on this disc at all.
The Final Word:
Try And Get Me is a tense, noirish crime drama that has a lot more going on than it initially seems. The performances here are strong across the board and Endfield's direction top notch. Olive Films presents the film on Blu-ray with nary an extra in sight but it looks and sounds pretty good. This is well worth tracking down.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
