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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Fallen Sparrow (1943)

A surprisingly dull spy noir that not even the strong screen presence of John Garfield can do much to save. Garfield plays a former prisoner of the Spanish Civil War who, after being hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, returns to New York to solve the murder of his best friend. He begins to suspect that the fascists who tortured him have followed him to New York but have they? Or is it just his paranoia, the residue of his previous mental condition? The villains are so obvious right from the start so there’s no suspense regarding who the bad guys are, just how will they be found out. Maureen O’Hara looks beautiful but she has nothing to do (though there’s a pay off at the end). Handsome B&W cinematography courtesy of Nicholas Musuraca. Co-starring Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison, Martha O’Driscoll and Hugh Beaumont.

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