Behind Green Lights
Brief Description:
A bullet-ridden corpse dumped in front of a police station leads police lieutenant Sam Carson on a mystery involving blackmail, corruption, and a mayoral campaign.
(from Tubi + IMDb)
Date: 1946
Genre: American crime drama mystery film
Running time: 1 hour 1 minute
Cast:
Carole Landis (Janet Bradley)
William Gargan (Lt. Sam Carson)
Don Beddoe (Dr. Yager)
Richard Crane (Johnny Williams)
Mary Anderson (Nora Bard)
John Ireland (Det. Oppenheimer)
Charles Russell (Arthur Templeton)
Roy Roberts (Max Calvert)
Mabel Paige (Flossie)
Stanley Prager (Ruzinsky)
Charles Tannen (Ames)
Director: Otto Brower
Production company: 20th Century Fox
*watched on Tubi*
Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5
A good 1940s aesthetic. The police station setting was unique and very enjoyable! A huge building though, apparently. ;P
Characters: 5/5
Lt. Carson was a really cool character—witty, hardworking, a good officer, upright but very human. Janet barely figured but she was a very strong and independent young woman, unlike the usual flighty, fainting ’40s heroines. Ames was fun and I really liked Johnny (who incidentally is quite handsome). Nora wasn’t my fav and neither was Arthur… but they were okay, I guess—but Bard was icky. Calvert, too, was straight-up slimy, and I didn’t like Yager. Flossie and Wintergreen were great comedic reliefs, as was the boxer.
Plot: 4.5/5
The plot reminded me a little of various Sherlock Holmes stories with the battered wife seeking divorce and the political blackmail with a young woman attempting to retrieve the questionable items. The mystery was very twisted and slowly revealed—which I loved—and the baddie was so unexpected (also a relief, haha). I enjoyed the political aspect of the plot but most of all, I appreciated seeing Carson’s struggle between doing the right thing and doing the most profitable thing. The tiny backstory about the former LT was a great addition. Also, while there was some really good suspense & action, it wasn’t a thriller, and I really liked that. ;P
The only thing I disliked was the whole addition of the Bard-Nora-Templeton triangle. Bard being an abusive husband, Nora leaves, falls in love with her lawyer, and seeks divorce, but Bard won’t grant it. The whole thing was just messy and I’d have appreciated the film much more without that.
Romance: 5/5
The thread of romance between hero and heroine is tiny and only comes out at the end, but it’s adorable.
Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5
As I mentioned above, there’s a strong theme of doing the right thing vs. doing the corrupted thing that’ll bring profit and popularity. Excellent.
Content: 4/5 (low)
Possibly some language? Otherwise, only a kiss or two between Nora & Arthur.
Violence: 5/5 (low)
Off-screen violence; one scene where a man dies of poison.
Overall: 4.5/5
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