Watched: 03/29/2026
Format: Sketchy Russian Site/ Archive.org
Viewing: First
Director: Ted Tetzlaff
So, because the studios are dumb and don't make their older movies easily available, I watched this on a sketchy Russian site (link above). And I wanted to watch this movie. In fact, I would have paid real American dollars to watch this movie.
"Why watch this one?" you ask. It has (in order of interest) Audrey Totter, Richard Conte, Sam Jaffe and John McIntire. And was a crime flick I'd not seen discussed anywhere except for one still I saw go by on social media a couple of months back.
Conte plays a mobster who has gone to Miami from NYC, and while there found singer Audrey Totter,* who he plans to bring back to New York and make a star. Totter is wary, but knows this could be her big break, and so jumps in a car with Conte and his two heavies.
The group stops off in a small town on the Florida/ Georgia state line and apparently old business comes back to haunt him as a former victim tries to get him, but Conte gets the drop on him and shoots him dead while Totter watches. At the trial, Totter gets a bout of conscience and says he murdered the guy (debatable, but okay) and Conte goes to prison.
Mostly it's a prison movie as Conte manipulates his situation in a Southern prison farm, eventually becoming a trustee who watches the other prisoners work, and even has a rifle to stop them should they escape.
If you want a movie where Conte is an absolute menace, this is the one. I always think it's a shame Conte is kind of forgotten outside of portions of the classic film scene - he's terrific in everything I've seen him in, and Hollywood had a ton of roles for him during this era.
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| The expression says it all - the guy looking for tips playing the violin is headed to their table |
Totter doesn't have that much to do here, which is wild as she's kind of coming off some leading roles and her range is in no doubt. Maybe she just wanted to go to Florida, where the movie was filmed on location in Clay County.
Sam Jaffe plays a fellow prisoner who knows Conte is manipulating him into a deadly corner, and John McIntire once again plays the stalwart lawman.
I'm not sure why this particular movie seems like its been shelved. It's got name talent, a good enough premise and a pretty solid ending. But these things rarely make sense to me.
Also - there are multiple movies named "Under the Gun" and it struck me how funny it would be to watch all of them, but I don't think I'll do that.
*she's brunette in this, but it does nothing to change her Totteriness
1 comment:
For that particular Sketchy Russian site, my understanding is, you are pretty safe watching movies on it... but maybe don't mess with downloading them.
There are some crappy copies on that site, or ones where the audio is dubbed into Russian (or sometimes Spanish, for reasons I can't fathom). But if you dig around enough, you can usually find really high-quality ones. Frequently better than on the legit American streamers. American streamers often show "old" movies (anything made before 2000) in the wrong aspect ratio: I've seen several 2.35:1 movies shown as full-frame for HDTV screens (which of course cuts off the sides).
If studios aren't going to make their movies available, shown correctly, on streamers (or at least put out cheap $5 DVDs that libraries can buy, or make movies available at library streaming services like Kanopy), then I have no problem watching them on a site that ignores IP laws. The only good reason for those laws is that the filmmakers/actors etc., or their descendants, get some small royalty payments... which the studios are cutting back massively on, anyways!
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