Hell's Half Acre [Blu-ray]

The seamy side of Hawaii
This film is directed by John Auer, who also directed "The City That Never Sleeps," also available from Olive Films on blu ray. The story revolves around two major events, one being that on Hawaii an ex-thug of sorts is being shaken down by his former companions in crime, resulting in his sweetheart's death; and that this ex-thug also sells songs(!) and has a popular record on the airwaves, when a stateside woman notices an uncanny ring of familiarity to the lyrics. Like "The City that never sleeps," the cinematography is good, the sound is good, and it has enough atmosphere to be entertaining. However the clear reason to get both this and "The City that never sleeps" are summed up in two words: Marie Windsor. If I hitch myself to a villainess or bad girl, I'd like Marie Windsor to play the part. She is just a magnetic character in any of her movies. This movie also has the reliable and interesting Wendell Corey, and Elsa Lancaster has a role as a cabbie. The only downside is...

DARK SIDE OF PARADISE
GOOD NOIR...ESPECIALLY SEEING HAWAII IN LATE 40'S AND EARLY 50'S...WENDELL COREY DOES A GOOD JOB AS AN EX-GANGSTER WHO IS CAUGHT IN A NOIR JUNGLE OF PROVING HIMSELF A WORTHY HUMAN BEING...EXCELLENT CAST BACKS COREY IN THIS THRILLER FROM THE PACIFIC.

Lurid, violent, and juicy!
This one is labelled as "film noir," but as I was watching it I went back and forth on whether it should be considered "noir" or just a lurid piece of pulp. There are some canonical "noir" elements to be sure, as well as features that preclude such categorization. At the end of the day only purists will care. Whether "noir" or not, this is a fascinating reminder that the 1950s were not all "I Love Lucy", MGM Musicals, Doris Day, and "Ozzie and Harriet." You get a fascinating portrait of the seamy side of Hawaii in the post WWII years, with a focus on the Honolulu vice pit known as Hell's Half Acre. True to some noir and race assumptions of the day, the film uses "exotic" locales and introduces white characters to a demi-monde of non-white people to add an air of presumed mystery and unseemliness to the story line. There are plenty of reminders of how in film suggested sleaze can make as much of an impression as overt sleaze. Most of the acting is forgettable, but Elsa Lancaster...

Click to Editorial Reviews