A Brilliant Conflict

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

A runaway truck without brakes that barrels down a mountain road and into a small town provides an exciting start to a film constructed on an intriguing premise. However, if only "Framed" had been able to maintain the initial momentum and build upon the underlying idea, a classic might have emerged. Handsome Glenn Ford of the thick dark eyebrows is behind the wheel of that truck, and, as Michael Lambert, he is quickly arrested and hauled into court, when his truck reaches a stop and he is discovered to have an expired drivers' license. Either dazed by the wild ride or congenitally naive, Ford fails to notice that the sultry blonde bar waitress, who bails him out, pays for his hotel room, and leaves him spending money, has an expensive coiffure, pricey dyed hair, and a chic wardrobe far beyond the means of someone living on tips. If he overlooked those clues, her cozy apartment and her casual job resignation should have tipped him off. However, the college-educated mining engineer is easily taken in by the obvious wiles of Paula Craig, played by Janis Carter in a role that cries out for a Barbara Stanwyck. Carter is as unconvincing in the part as is Ford's keen interest in her.The screenplay by Ben Maddow, adapted from a story by Jack Patrick, reveals that Craig's obvious come-on masks intentions to enlist him as a fall guy for the plot she is hatching with boyfriend Barry Sullivan. The mix of dumb nice guy, evil seductress, money, sex, and murder have produced some classic films, but unfortunately "Framed" falls short. The mediocre production is nicely photographed in black and white by Burnett Guffey, but Richard Wallace's direction, after a great start, falters.The film's disappointment, however, does not lay with star Glenn Ford. Always an affable, likable actor, Ford is engaging in the central role, even if his initial gullibility is hard to swallow. Seeking employment, Ford befriends a colorful local miner, Edgar Buchanan, who strikes pay dirt and offers him a job, which complicates the plans Carter and Sullivan have laid. Veteran character actor, Buchanan, is always fun, and he and Ford make the film worthwhile. However, the lines and situations are often trite, Sullivan is only passable in his role, and Carter is the big void at the film's center. If the audience can quickly see through Paula's character and grasp her intent during her first few moments on screen, the credibility of Ford's tough guy character unravels. While the skill, depth, and sex appeal of a Barbara Stanwyck would have elevated "Framed" several notches, even she may not have been able to make it a classic. However, for fans of Glenn Ford, the film is a must see.

FRAMED", Columbia, 1947, 82 min. This the one in which a slightly scruffy Glen Ford (just after "'Gilda", which made him a highly bankable Star) plays a mining engineer down on his luck, drifts into town, gets busted for a brakeless truck driving accident for which he gets thirty days in the local hoosegow, but is bailed out by a mysterious blonde (Janis Carter) for no apparent reason other than that she seems to have eyes for him. If he knew what she really had in mind for him he would have taken the ten days, gladly! As the plot thickens the incredibly alluring Carter really racks poor lovesick Glen over the coals setting him up for an insurance scam where he will be "accidentally killed" in a car crash so she and her real boyfriend (Barry Sullivan) can collect on the policy and scram. Glen barely survives and Janis gets her just deserts but her performance is so subtly-shaded with both hidden menace and obvious allure, and she is just so all-around fantastic in "Framed", that I couldn't help thinking that, all kidding aside, this must have been the Best Performance by an Actress for all of 1947 - - the year that Loretta Young actually got it for "The Farmer's Daughter".

Glenn Ford, young and brittle, plays an unemployed, hard-drinking mining engineer saved from ten days in the hoosegow by a blonde waitress with evil in her eyes; turns out she and her partner need a fall guy once they swindle the local banker. Crosses and double-crosses in a mostly predictable vein, though just about saved by excellent directorial touches and intriguing noir detail (the wrench in the backseat, the poisoned cup of coffee). Ford isn't really convincing playing drunk and reckless--and it doesn't sit well with us having him cast as the possible dupe--yet he cuts a solid presence on the screen and the picture would be nothing without him. ** from ****

This little film, made by Columbia Studios, is very enjoyable!! All about a woman who is greedy and wants to get hold of a quarter of a million dollars and plans to rob a bank with the bank president himself, but then something goes awry and well........ you will just have to watch this great B-movie to find out the rest, but I assure you that it is a film that is very good!! Nice work by Glenn Ford and Janis Carter. This film is a bit like "Double Indemnity", only with a twist ending, and a lower budget. Oh, to have this released on DVD--I would be so happy. I just love these old black and white film noir type films from the 1940's and 1950's.