Roadblock (1951 film)
Encyclopedia
Roadblock is an American
film noir
starring Charles McGraw
and Joan Dixon
. The 73-minute crime thriller was shot on location in Los Angeles, California
. The film was directed by Harold Daniels and the cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca.
Joe is attracted to Diane, despite his dislike for "chiseler"s. She makes it quite clear she loves the finer things in life, which "Honest Joe" (as Diane calls him) cannot possibly afford on his small salary of $350 a month, so they part when they reach Los Angeles
.
By coincidence, when Joe and Harry are assigned to check out Kendall Webb (Lowell Gilmore), the prime suspect in a fur robbery, Joe runs into Diane, who is now Webb's girlfriend. Their mutual attraction flares up, and Joe sets up a robbery to Webb, using his inside knowledge of a $1,250,000 cash shipment, to finance a dream life with Diane.
Ironically, Diane decides that her love for Joe is greater than her love of money. When she tells Joe she wants to get married, he tries to back out of his deal with Webb. However, Webb convinces him that Diane might not feel the same after a few months living on his paltry pay. The robbery coincides with Joe and Diane's honeymoon, giving him an alibi. Eventually, Joe confesses to Diane what he has done.
The railway mail car robbery is successful, but a railroad employee is injured and later dies. Things go downhill from there. One of the robbers is identified and arrested. Desperate, Joe arranges to meet Webb on a desolate stretch of highway by telling him he has a plan to get them out of their mess. However, after a struggle, he knocks Webb out and stages a car accident in which Webb is killed and his share of the money partially burned.
Harry figures out that his partner is involved and pleads with him to turn himself in. Instead, Joe tries to flee to Mexico with Diane, but is tracked down and shot. He dies in Diane's arms.
, the screenwriters take a hard-boiled mystery plot and combine it with "an aura of middle-class malaise and pervasive corruption to provide a motivation for Peter's alienation and fall." And, the noir notion of entrapment is illustrated by the staging of Peters' death in the semi-dry Los Angeles
river bed, in one of the first car chases to be filmed there.
and Diane—is typical of film noir. The following is an example early in the film when Joe and Diane first get to know each other:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
starring Charles McGraw
Charles McGraw
Charles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
and Joan Dixon
Joan Dixon
Joan Dixon was an American film and television actress in the 1950s. She is known for her role in the film noir, Roadblock .-Biography:...
. The 73-minute crime thriller was shot on location in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The film was directed by Harold Daniels and the cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca.
Plot
Insurance investigator Joe Peters (McGraw) and his partner Harry Miller (Louis Jean Heydt) solve a case and prepare to fly home. Joe meets Diane (Dixon) at an airport. She pretends to be his wife without his knowledge in order to get a large discount on the airfare. They wind up sharing a hotel room after a storm forces an unscheduled stop.Joe is attracted to Diane, despite his dislike for "chiseler"s. She makes it quite clear she loves the finer things in life, which "Honest Joe" (as Diane calls him) cannot possibly afford on his small salary of $350 a month, so they part when they reach Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
By coincidence, when Joe and Harry are assigned to check out Kendall Webb (Lowell Gilmore), the prime suspect in a fur robbery, Joe runs into Diane, who is now Webb's girlfriend. Their mutual attraction flares up, and Joe sets up a robbery to Webb, using his inside knowledge of a $1,250,000 cash shipment, to finance a dream life with Diane.
Ironically, Diane decides that her love for Joe is greater than her love of money. When she tells Joe she wants to get married, he tries to back out of his deal with Webb. However, Webb convinces him that Diane might not feel the same after a few months living on his paltry pay. The robbery coincides with Joe and Diane's honeymoon, giving him an alibi. Eventually, Joe confesses to Diane what he has done.
The railway mail car robbery is successful, but a railroad employee is injured and later dies. Things go downhill from there. One of the robbers is identified and arrested. Desperate, Joe arranges to meet Webb on a desolate stretch of highway by telling him he has a plan to get them out of their mess. However, after a struggle, he knocks Webb out and stages a car accident in which Webb is killed and his share of the money partially burned.
Harry figures out that his partner is involved and pleads with him to turn himself in. Instead, Joe tries to flee to Mexico with Diane, but is tracked down and shot. He dies in Diane's arms.
Cast
- Charles McGrawCharles McGrawCharles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
as Joe Peters - Joan DixonJoan DixonJoan Dixon was an American film and television actress in the 1950s. She is known for her role in the film noir, Roadblock .-Biography:...
as Diane - Lowell Gilmore as Kendall Webb
- Louis Jean Heydt as Harry Miller
- Milburn StoneMilburn StoneMilburn Stone was an American television actor, a nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, best known for his role as "Doc" on the CBS western series Gunsmoke. He also played a doctor, CDR Blake, in the 1943 film Gung Ho!.Stone was born in Burrton in Harvey County in...
as Egan
Noir analysis
In noir fashion sex and money leads to Peters' destruction in the film. According to film critics Bob Porfiero and Alain SilverAlain Silver
Alain Silver is a US film producer, film director, and screenwriter; music producer; film critic, film historian, DVD commentator, author and editor of books and essays on film topics, especially film noir and horror films.-Education:...
, the screenwriters take a hard-boiled mystery plot and combine it with "an aura of middle-class malaise and pervasive corruption to provide a motivation for Peter's alienation and fall." And, the noir notion of entrapment is illustrated by the staging of Peters' death in the semi-dry Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
river bed, in one of the first car chases to be filmed there.
Noir dialogue
The hard-edged clipped dialogue between the two lead actors—Joe Petersand Diane—is typical of film noir. The following is an example early in the film when Joe and Diane first get to know each other:
- Joe: What makes you the way you are?
- Diane: What makes anybody the way they are?
- Joe: You tell me.
- Diane: Where they got started maybe. I had a lot of jobs - modeling, clerking, secretarial work. I tried hard but it was no go.
- Joe: Does that make a chiseler out of you? Must have been something else.
- Diane: Whenever I got a job there was always a man who wasn't interested in my working ability.
- Joe: I understand that.
- Diane: Really? Coming from you that's a compliment.