Plunder Road (1957) Ghost Faced Bandits

One of the best things about the genre Film Noir is that the majority are fast paced, straight to the point, no frills stories packed into a short run time of nothing much more than 70 odd minutes.  No messing around with pointless story points which distract from the main plot, just wham bam inject me direct into the crime, chase, drama, hit. No dragged out endings, just a quick flash, punch in the face and The End plastered up on the screen and you sit back with a wow, take a deep breath, boom job done. They are the perfect week day evening watch.

Plunder Road was no exception. It fired head on, straight into the first act, the crime. A perfectly planned heist of gold from a train in the dead of night against the pouring, lashing rain. This sets up the five players on this mission and focuses on each with a little inner monologue giving a small chunk of their character.

The hard driving rain gives these guys the opportunity to wear an awesome and original looking get up disguise. Mackintosh rain coats, a fisherman hat and white stockings over their faces. With the black and white photography and the contrast rain, they look a truly sinister image standing on the railway line.

These five men, lead by Eddie Harris the master mind, are after one thing, 10 million dollars worth of gold bars. This massive amount of gold is to be split up into three different concealed trucks and driven across the state lines. Each leaving some time after the other to see if they can beat the pending road blocks and police searches.

Gene Raymond stars as the head guy “Eddie Harris”. Wayne Morris plays “Commando Munson”, a tough guy always smoking a stogie. Jeanne Cooper is Eddie’s girl, “Fran Werner”. Elisha Cook Jr is “Skeets Jonas”, the family guy and explosives expert. Stafford Repp aka Chief O’Hara from the original Batman plays “Roly Adams”, chewing gum by the bucket load and Steven Ritch is “Frankie Chardo” a former racing car driver. Steven Ritch is also the writer of the screenplay, with Hubert Cornfield on directing duties.

Now the tension rises again as they keep an ear on the police radios and eyes on the long roads. Can they all keep their cool? Can the plan be pulled off with precision and skill. Surely they will all be OK? Hey it’s Film Noir, it can’t be all too easy. Tune in to watch this first-rate thriller, which is at time of writing, on Youtube. 

Not long till my next fix of film. Better get the beers in the fridge and ready those chili dogs. What exciting story will be beamed into my pending eyeballs? What adventure awaits? Pop back if you’re interested and have a look. Keep cool and love film… Mike the Wolf