D.O.A is a 1950's film noir all about a man who has been poisoned and we see him then trying to find out who did it and why. It's a film that could almost feel like something from Hitchcock but no it comes from Rudolph Maté a most of the time cinematographer who had directed also though in the previous few years to this. Maté manages to create a story that is interesting but not really in my opinion one that is a classic, different yes but it feels the whole gimmick overrides this to make it look and feel like it should be a classic. Nevertheless this movie is not boring at all, with a decent running time as well it whizzes by quite nicely and the whole plot wraps itself up in just over 80 minutes.
It stars Edmond O'Brien as Frank Bigelow the man who has been poisoned, he has no idea why because he has no obvious enemies and he doesn't even know where he was poisoned. Pamela Britton, William Ching and Luther Adler join O'Brien in the cast and most do a good job but I couldn't help feel the acting is just a little bit too shaky. I just felt at certain points when the script throws up some quite dramatic part, the actors kind of go a bit over the top with what they've got, no one fails in this film but it is only some scenes are ruined by none believable acting though.
Rudolph Maté uses the script from Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene to make a very fast yet efficient film, it never gets too bogged down in its own story and although it can open up too many avenues of investigation, it still comes to a conclusion that makes sense. Maté works well with the cast at his disposal and also uses his skills with the camera to make this feel even faster then it really is, some scenes look great though even if the camera is moving about extremely fast. I also liked the bad people or person(could be either,no spoilers) in this, of course I will not claim who they are so I do not ruin for possible readers of this but although they are not superbly evil, they definitely have a ruthless streak waiting to come out.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys well film noir, I still don't think many will find this near being a masterpiece although I am sure some will enjoy it massively more than I did. I must say though I did pretty much enjoy this myself though, I never quite felt wrapped up in this mystery, you know edge of your seat kind of stuff but I did at least want to see what happened next and who was responsible and that makes this a pretty decent film from my view. Whether Maté was a better director or cinematographer well that is for those who have seen all his work to decide, he certainly manages to tell a story here and make it come across as more than just your average tale of mystery or a whodunit, he makes it OK and that is all that is needed. And so overall as said I felt it to be pretty good but not completely well, good, a movie that maybe is not the absolute best but certainly one I would tell people to go and watch.
It stars Edmond O'Brien as Frank Bigelow the man who has been poisoned, he has no idea why because he has no obvious enemies and he doesn't even know where he was poisoned. Pamela Britton, William Ching and Luther Adler join O'Brien in the cast and most do a good job but I couldn't help feel the acting is just a little bit too shaky. I just felt at certain points when the script throws up some quite dramatic part, the actors kind of go a bit over the top with what they've got, no one fails in this film but it is only some scenes are ruined by none believable acting though.
Rudolph Maté uses the script from Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene to make a very fast yet efficient film, it never gets too bogged down in its own story and although it can open up too many avenues of investigation, it still comes to a conclusion that makes sense. Maté works well with the cast at his disposal and also uses his skills with the camera to make this feel even faster then it really is, some scenes look great though even if the camera is moving about extremely fast. I also liked the bad people or person(could be either,no spoilers) in this, of course I will not claim who they are so I do not ruin for possible readers of this but although they are not superbly evil, they definitely have a ruthless streak waiting to come out.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys well film noir, I still don't think many will find this near being a masterpiece although I am sure some will enjoy it massively more than I did. I must say though I did pretty much enjoy this myself though, I never quite felt wrapped up in this mystery, you know edge of your seat kind of stuff but I did at least want to see what happened next and who was responsible and that makes this a pretty decent film from my view. Whether Maté was a better director or cinematographer well that is for those who have seen all his work to decide, he certainly manages to tell a story here and make it come across as more than just your average tale of mystery or a whodunit, he makes it OK and that is all that is needed. And so overall as said I felt it to be pretty good but not completely well, good, a movie that maybe is not the absolute best but certainly one I would tell people to go and watch.