Tight Spot (1955)
Tight Spot (1955)
„Tight Spot“ is a 1955 film-noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson. The screenplay by William Bowers is based on the 1953 play „Dead Pigeon“ by Leonard Kantor.
Tough-talking Sherry Conley is a model who is in prison for a crime she did not knowingly commit. She is offered a deal for her freedom by U.S. attorney, Lloyd Hallett, if she will testify as a witness in the trial of mobster Benjamin Costain. Hallett hides her in a hotel where he tries to convince her to testify in spite of the danger. She is under the protection of a squad of detectives led by Lt. Vince Striker and Mrs. Willoughby, Conley’s friendly prison matron escort. There she stalls about making a final decision while she enjoys expensive meals from room service. Despite never being alone together in the hotel room, sparks begin to fly between Lt. Striker and Conley.
Through his corrupt inside contacts, Costain finds out where Conley is being kept and sends his thugs to kill her. Conley is shot in the arm and survives the assassination attempt when Striker kills the assailant, but Willoughby is shot and seriously wounded. When Striker leaves the hotel, Costain’s men force Striker into a car and bring him to Costain. But it’s not an abduction, as Striker is a corrupt policeman who is working for Costain. Costain has learned that Conley is being transferred to the city jail for added protection, and he tells Striker that he will have to kill Conley himself if he does not help to arrange another murder attempt at the hotel. He is told to leave the bathroom window unlocked for Costain’s killer.
At the hotel, Hallett attempts to use Conley’s selfish unsupportive sister, Clara Moran, to persuade her to testify, but the two sisters only argue and Conley remains uncooperative. Striker inadvertently almost reveals his duplicity to Hallett, but a phone call to Hallett interrupts their conversation and Hallett’s train of thought. They learn that Willoughby has died in the hospital. Conley, who liked and respected Willoughby, becomes angry about her death and agrees to testify against Costain. Striker, who cares for Conley, tries to dissuade her but can’t, and reluctantly proceeds with the plan to have her killed. Moments before the murderer arrives, Hallett returns to escort Conley to the city jail from which she is to be taken to the courtroom to enter her testimony. While she is changing her clothes in the bedroom, Hallett chats with Striker, and the attorney’s banter brings the jumpy Striker to a breaking point. He abruptly kicks open the bedroom door, shoots the killer and saves Conley at the cost of his own life. The unlocked window tells Conley and Hallett that he had set up her murder but at the last moment changed his mind.
Conley takes the stand at Costain’s trial, giving her occupation as „gang buster“.
Cast:
- Ginger Rogers – Sherry Conley
- Edward G. Robinson – Lloyd Hallett
- Brian Keith – Vince Striker
- Lucy Marlow – Prison Girl
- Lorne Greene – Benjamin Costain
- Katherine Anderson – Mrs. Willoughby
- Allen Nourse – Marvin Rickles
- Peter Leeds – Fred Packer
- Doye O’Dell – Mississippi Mac
- Eve McVeagh – Clara Moran
„In die Enge getrieben“ (Tight Spot) ist ein Film-Noir-Kriminalfilm von 1955 unter der Regie von Phil Karlson. Das Drehbuch von William Bowers basiert auf dem Theaterstück „Dead Pigeon“ von Leonard Kantor aus dem Jahr 1953.
Die taffe Sherry Conley ist ein Model, das wegen eines Verbrechens, das sie nicht wissentlich begangen hat, im Gefängnis sitzt. Der US-Staatsanwalt Lloyd Hallett bietet ihr einen Deal für ihre Freiheit an, wenn sie als Zeugin im Prozess gegen den Mafioso Benjamin Costain aussagt. Hallett versteckt sie in einem Hotel, wo er versucht, sie zu überzeugen, trotz der Gefahr auszusagen. Sie steht unter dem Schutz einer Gruppe von Detektiven unter der Leitung von Lt. Vince Striker und Mrs. Willoughby, Conleys freundlicher Gefängniswärterin, die sie begleitet. Dort zögert sie eine endgültige Entscheidung hinaus, während sie teure Mahlzeiten vom Zimmerservice genießt. Obwohl sie nie allein im Hotelzimmer sind, fliegen zwischen Lt. Striker und Conley die Funken.