Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0014381614626
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Release Date: February 01, 2000
Running Time: 88 minutes
Sales Rank: 92372
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: February 13, 1955
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Editorial Review:
Description:
Raw and violent, steeped in the film noir tradition, this cult classic ventures into the seamy gangster underworld, oozing with seediness and low-life characters. Far ahead of its time, 'The Big Combo' takes a dark, disturbing look at the battle between Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), a good cop, and Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), a sadistic crime boss--and the cool blonde who gets caught in the middle (Jean Wallace, married to Wilde in real life at the time). With the help of the gangster's ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangsters are ruthless. They savagely pummel Diamond and conduct gut-wrenchingly brutal acts of torture that were unusual on screen at the time of the film's release.
Amazon.com:
A prime example of the American film noir style that flourished during the 1940s and '50s, The Big Combo is now highly regarded as a stylistic milestone for its innovative use of deep shadows and harsh, singular light sources to define its visual strategy. This look is largely credited to the rule-breaking brilliance of cinematographer John Alton, who turns a standard plot of the era into a richly atmospheric experiment in visual invention. Ignoring conventional approaches to lighting, Alton defines the screen in terms of blackness, often framing characters as silhouettes cast in ominous grays or thick, roiling fogs. Moving from clarity to abstraction with masterful grades in between, Alton's trend-setting style has been celebrated by cinematographers since the film's release in 1955.
The film's plot keeps brisk pace with the visuals, focusing on the obsessive efforts of a tenacious detective (Cornel Wilde) to destroy a sadistic mobster (Richard Conte) whose vicious influence has nearly ruined the life of the woman (Jean Wallace) he keeps under his dark wing. Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman are nicely cast as the villain's toady henchmen, and Brian Donlevy's usual limitations serve him well as the humbled, frustrated kingpin who's been stifled by Conte's ambition. Director Joseph H. Lewis previously demonstrated his raw, stylistic vigor with the earlier cult favorite Gun Crazy, and here he's in peak form with a perfect match of subject and sensibility. The result is hard-boiled entertainment that still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Big Combo
Lewis's ultra-hard-boiled noir is savage and unstinting in its view of two men, one squarely on the side of the law and the other seemingly above it, locked in a battle of wills that may eventually destroy them both. Conte is particularly repellent as the sadistic Mr. Brown, but he gets excellent support from Brian Donlevy as a stoic, humiliated underling whose hearing aids provide one of the movie's most gruesome plot points. Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef are also solid playing Brown's all-too-loyal thugs. Raw and beautifully stylized by John Alton's brilliant use of light, shadow, and slanted angles, "The Big Combo" makes for a bracing night at the movies.
Rating:  - John Alton's cinematography is a classic noir example of what can be done with limited means
When the two most interesting scenes involve a hearing aid pulled from Brian Donlevy's ear, I think a good assumption would be that The Big Combo lacks a little something. The plot is simplicity itself. An obsessive cop is determined to bring down a crime boss, come what may. As the cop collects witnesses, the crime boss' two goons turn them into corpses. Eventually, the cop prevails...and maybe even makes a friend of the crime boss' innocent, blond and zaftig girlfriend. In fact, however, I think the Big Combo lacks two big somethings.
First, the movie has a giant, dull center because the two leads, Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace, are two of the most limited actors Hollywood ever gave star roles to. While Wilde might generously be called a limited actor, Wallace, with her little girl voice and intonations, simply isn't an actor at all. For my money, almost all the actors lack any inherent interest. The implied relationship between the two killers, amusingly played by Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holiman, might have been an inside joke in the Fifties, but it now seems simply an excuse for excessive analysis on Turner Classic Movies. Donlevy, in fact, saddened me. It was disconcerting to see this actor, who had earned major stature in Hollywood in his prime, reduced to playing a broken-down, aging, useless crime boss in a movie of this quickie, low-budget quality.
Second, the dialogue is as flat and stale as yesterday's fried egg. It doesn't power the plot. It doesn't make us ... Read More
Rating:  - Big Dumpo
What an utter waste of time. I love old black and white movies, especially film noir, but the lighting is amateurish, the acting is very stiff, the ideas are idiotic (they arrest a woman for murder because she attempts suicide), the makeup is incredibly poor (one man's gray hair looks like it was applied with house paint), the music is suddenly loud for no reason, but the writing should get a special award for stupidity. There is a wandering, nonsensical, and boring plot line that could not be saved with the greatest of actors, and they certainly are not that. Having seen it all the way through, I have no idea what a "Big Combo" is or why anyone wanted to make this movie. It is so bad I will hesitate to order a Big Combo the next time I want fries with my hamburger. I'm actually sorry that I have to give it one star. Stinko!
Rating: - Great movie, great price!
I don't have to repeat everything that others have written-- this is a great movie! I already had the Image DVD when I decided to buy the Geneon PD release for just over a dollar from an Amazon seller to send to a friend. I expected the inexpensive public domain release to be barely watchable. I've had that experience with most of the Alpha DVD's I've purchased. But, THIS Geneon is quite good. Before looking for an out of print Image DVD, check this one out! With shipping, my total cost was under 4 dollars! Highly recommended!
Rating: - The Big Combo
I'm a fan of the old B&W detective/mystery films. This one is OK but not great.
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