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Pushover Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II
Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak
Directed by Richard Quine
Originally released 1954
Black & White Fullscreen
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2010
88 minutes
Pushover is one of 5 film noir DVD in Volume 2 of Columbia Film Noir Classics. It stars Fred MacMurray as a cop trying to find a bank robber and Vertigo’s Kim Novak in her film debut as the bank robber’s moll. Pushover is an above average thriller. Like the other 4 movies in this collection, this film noir features a very well restored print.
Pushover is a static film noir with an omnipresent musical theme. There are a lot of scenes involving the cops keeping an eye on the moll or her sexy next door neighbor in the case of Sheridan’s partner. Things pick up about halfway into the movie. The following suspense is quite good but there are a few plot holes.
This thriller opens with a well-executed bank robbery. Then a cute blonde named Lana McLane (Novak) leaves a movie house and is picked up by a man named Paul Sheridan. Sheridan (MacMurray) turns out to be a cop investigating the robbery and the pick up was no accident. He and his partner are also posted in the apartment across the alley from Novak’s and keeping an eye on her.
Lana McLane quickly figures out Sheridan is a cop. There ensues a rather badly done confrontation that turns romantic. She plants the idea of double-crossing her bank robber boyfriend in Sheridan’s head and he goes along with it.
In every thriller the bad guy has a plan and things do not go to plan. This is the case here.
The other mystery DVD in this film noir collection are Fritz Lang’s Human Desire, The Brothers Rico, Nightfall, and City of Fear.
Fun factoir: One of the movies playing at the theatre Kim Novak is seen leaving is The Nebraskan which starred Phil Carey who plays Rick McAllister, MacMurray’s partner.