Synopsis
Joe Sullivan (O'Keefe), a small-time gangster, is visited in jail by his lawyer's legal assistant Ann Martin (Hunt) and his girlfriend Pat Regan (Trevor). Joe breaks out of jail with Pat's help, and they force Ann to accompany them on their escape. Pat is willing to do whatever Joe wants, but Ann presses him to give up the criminal life.
Joe expects payment from gang leader Rick Coyle (Burr) for his part in a robbery and for taking the rap. Coyle is planning to have Joe killed before he can get his money, but the attempt is unsuccessful because Ann wounds the gunman. Despite admitting their feelings for each other, Joe sends Ann away so that he can escape to Panama with Pat.
Coyle's gunman kidnaps Ann. Pat learns about the kidnapping and finally tells Joe as their ship is about to sail. To save Ann, Joe confronts and shoots Coyle and his gunmen, but he is fatally wounded and dies in Ann's arms.
TCM Film Festival, 2012
Raw Deal was shown at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2012, in the
Noir Style
category. The guest speakers were film historian Eddie Muller
and actress Marsha Hunt.
Muller — quite rightly — called Raw Deal a film noir classic. Hunt said that the film had a good set, and that everybody got along well. The cast members were excellent actors who understood their parts. Anthony Mann did not direct them, because the actors knew what to do. He concentrated more on the extremely stylistic camera set-ups with his longtime cinematographer John Alton. When asked which of her movies she likes best, Hunt cited Carnegie Hall (1947), because she worked with many famous musicians, and None Shall Escape (1944), which foretold the end of the Nazis. Hunt also talked about being on the blacklist. She was not a communist, but she did raise her voice about social issues. She stated that those who spoke out were blacklisted because the studio heads were afraid of right-wing backlash.
Further Reading