Kill Or Be Killed (1950) Film Soleil "South of the Border" Noir

 

"Lawrence Tierney breaks Good".

Directed by Max Nosseck (Dillinger, The Brighton Strangler, The Hoodlum). Written by Arnold Lipp, Max Nosseck and Lawrence L. Goldman. The cinematography was by J. Roy Hunt (I Walked with A Zombie, Crossfire), and the Music was by Karl Hajos.

The Hollywood Reporter news item noted that this was the first American-financed production to be filmed entirely in Portugal. Juno Productions made a plausible Brazil out Portuguese locations.

An Eagle - Lion 67 minute production, starring Lawrence Tierney as Robert Warren, George Coulouris as Victor Sloma, Marissa O'Brien as Maria Marek. 

Lawrence Tierney as Robert Warren

Marissa O'Brien as Maria Marek

George Coulouris as Victor Sloma

Rudolph Anders as Gregory Marek

With Rudolph Anders as Gregory Marek, Lopes da Silva as Huerta, Veloso Pires as Damiao, Leonor Maia as Nina, João Amaro as Jose, Licinio Sena as Procopio, Helga Liné as Blonde Dancer, and Lobo as Overseer. 

The Story

Incredibly cheap, slightly corny, vaguely tropic sounding, cabaret music, that doesn't remotely suggest  Brazil to me, with a montage of stock footage of Brazil. 

Jungleville 

Jungleville. A no name south of the border town, the stock footage is mixed with Portuguese locations and Portuguese backlots dressed up tropical. During this establishing shot montage we get an almost "Criswell" like monologue about the various natural and environmental pitfalls that abound around Jungleville, and the final words which gives us our title. 

"... Those that know the law of the this jungle say it is "Kill or Be Killed.""

Robert Warren a 30 year old ex GI who fought in the Pacific now a reliable HVAC engineer, pulls up in the town's equivalent of a taxi a two wheel donkey cart. He's outside Huerta's International Café. (If it was a Mexican Noir it would probably be a Cabaretera). 

The new sign in the window catches Robert's attention. It advertises that Huerta's is the only place along the Amazonas River with genuine Air-Conditioning. (Air Conditioning has the classic letters coated with ice)

The sign also advertises that besides the genuine air it also boasts of having a "Genuine Blondes." 

Robert just finished the install on the air-conditioning system. He's dressed snazzily in a light linen suit, a white Panama hat, and what looks like huge, size 14 white "nubuck" resort shoes. He's there to see Huerta for his money. 

Check out the nubucks

Check out the nubucks

When he walks into the café we see that the music is Huerta's house band rehearsing for the Grand Opening. Robert asks the barkeep for Huerta. "Hasn't seen him." 

I haven't seen him

Robert turns to watch the floor show.

Helga Liné as Blonde Dancer

One of the genuine blondes, a slinky number with long hair, who looks remarkably up to date, is practicing her dance routine. 

A dance routine, which since this is under the "code," we can safely assume (in our imaginations, of course), is going to eventually end in the genuine blonde "reveal." Wink, wink. 

The Blonde looks Robert over and likes what she sees, and of course, Robert likes what he sees also. The rehearsal ends.

Robert: [clapping] Terrific, terrific. Boy if I had the dough, I'd take you back to the states with me. I can see it all in lights, The Mocambo, The Stork Club, The Automat, Barbed Wire and his five Cucarachas. How about it baby you'll knock them dead? Especially in The Automat. 

Blonde: Oh I'd love to go with you to, but.

Robert: Oh your cabarrero is jealous. Don't be silly Jose you old horse, I'll be out of here tomorrow.

Our tale goes off the tracks a bit during a rendition of Oh Suzanna sung by Robert who dances with the second blonde. As soon as Huerta walks in Robert breaks off the fun and asks Huerta for his money. 

Robert: I built you the best air conditioning plant this side of the Panama Canal and now your stalling about the dough.

now your stalling about the dough

Lopes da Silva as Huerta

Huerta tells Robert that he's not carrying it on him. Tells him he has to go to the office. Robert answers that he better be back in five minutes. All this in front of the bartender the musicians, the two blondes. Robert starts in with Oh Suzanna again this time dancing with the first blonde. 

Meanwhile in Huerta's office, just after Huerta opens his safe, a man wearing a pith helmet comes into the office. He sneaks up behind Huerta and when Huerta turns stabs him in the heart. He starts rummaging through the safe. 

When Huerta doesn't come back it goes Noirsville when Robert stops the music and barges into Huerta's office. 

Five minutes are up.

Huerta, at first glance, looks like he's dozed off.  Robert goes to shake him awake and finds he's dead. Stabbed. Just then the second blonde comes into the office and seeing Robert hunched over immediately assumes that Robert killed Huerta. 

You killed him!

She runs out screaming for the police. At that moment the real killer busts out of the closet and out the back entrance to the club. 

Robert is now chases after him. One of the Café workers who runs into Huerta's office spots Robert through the window running and yells out pointing Robert out to the police, who begin a chase.  

The killer ran down towards the riverfront. Robert follows but is forced to start climbing roofs and jumping fences running for his life from the various converging police patrols. 

white motorboats

When Robert gets to the waterfront, he runs out on some gangways and docks. He's taking fire from the police, and a bullet grooves his shoulder. He falls dramatically into the water, disappearing from view. The police assume they hit him.

We see Robert surface between some boats out of view from the gathered crowd. He then swims over to a riverboat tied up along a wharf. He climbs up it's anchor and then into an open cabin window. 

Through all that, he still has his nubucks on, how Noir is that? 

Maria is startled by Robert

On the ship he meets Maria Marek. It's her cabin he stepped thru the window into. She is an ex concert pianist. They like what each other sees. However the riverboat is going to her husbands plantation, so of course were getting a love triangle thrown in.

Noirsville 

It's a watchable curiosity, and it's free on YouTube. Tierney as the leading man "love interest" is a bit much. In this, he looks sort of like a big, slightly goofy looking think Crispin Glover as George McFly in Back To The Future but big looks like a former college linebacker. He's an ex GI who fought in the Pacific and knows the jungle. 

It's got to be the clothes he's wearing. His "summer" attire. The big white shoes look like motorboats and give off a cartoonish aura, and the pants are belted north of his elbows almost up to his armpits. He also goes sans hat a lot. 

It's opening sequences reminded me of the similar and infinitely superior scenario in Neo Noir The Wrong Man (1993). It also is memorable to me for blonde dancer Helga Liné. She is a beauty who looks very contemporary and up to date in this film. It looks from the films posters that the studio saw some potential attraction value in putting Helga on it. 

Worth a watch 6.5/10.