The Big Combo (1955)

"First is first and second is nobody."
I'm a film noir fanatic and I can tell you this is easily one of the very best examples you'll find anywhere. It has an awesome cast, wonderful hard-boiled dialogue, a fast-paced jazzy score by legendary composer David Raksin, and incredible cinematography by the great John Alton, who is well-known for his work in film noirs like "T-Men", "Raw Deal", "The Amazing Mr. X", and "He Walked by Night". If you looked up film noir in a dictionary this movie could be the definition!

Cornel Wilde stars as Lieutenant Leonard Diamond, a "righteous" cop who's determined to take down the evil Mr. Brown (Richard Conte at his menacing best!), who controls a crime racket known as "The Big Combination". Desperate to get evidence, Diamond turns to Brown's beautiful girlfriend Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace) for help. She refuses to help him until Brown's henchmen murder Diamond's girlfriend, which convinces Susan that Brown must be brought to justice.

Diamond tries to track down potential witnesses against Mr. Brown, but Brown proves to be too crafty, and the potential witnesses are quickly eliminated. That is, until Diamond tracks down Mr. Brown's wife, who only after continuous pressure finally agrees to help the police. It all boils down to the inevitable showdown between good and evil, with Brown cornered by the persistant Diamond, who like the Mounties, "always gets his man."

"The Big Combo" was directed by Joseph Lewis, the same genius who gave us the classic "Gun Crazy". Cornel Wilde and Richard Conte were simply superb, although the obvious scene-stealer was Conte who portrayed one of the cruelest gangsters of all time. In fabulous supporting roles were Brian Donlevy (who portrayed Mr. Brown's right-hand man) and Lee Van Cleef (who portrayed one of Mr. Brown's hoodlums of course). Beautiful Jean Wallace was actually married to co-star Cornel Wilde at the time, making their scenes together even more convincing and entertaining. This movie has earned a reputation for having graphic, ahead-of-its-time violence, but trust me it's nothing you can't handle! This movie is a definite must for all film noir buffs!

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.