The Long Wait
The Long Wait is a 1954 crime drama film noir directed by Victor Saville starring Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans and Peggie Castle.
| The Long Wait | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Victor Saville |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | the novel by Mickey Spillane |
| Produced by | Lesser Samuels |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Franz Planer |
| Edited by | Ronald Sinclair |
| Music by | Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco |
Production company | Parklane Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million[1] |
Plot
Johnny McBride is badly hurt while hitch hiking and loses his memory when the car he is riding in crashes. Two years later, a clue leads him to his old home town, where he finds he is a murder suspect. McBride tries to clear his name of the presumed murder charges. Thugs working for the local mob boss try to end his meddling.
Cast
- Anthony Quinn as Johnny McBride
- Charles Coburn as Gardiner
- Gene Evans as Servo
- Peggie Castle as Venus
- Mary Ellen Kay as Wendy Miller
- Shirley Patterson as Carol Shay (as Shawn Smith)
- Dolores Donlon as Troy Avalon
- Barry Kelley as Tucker
- James Millican as Police Capt. Lindsey
- Bruno VeSota as Eddie Packman (as Bruno Ve Sota)
- Jay Adler as Joe—Bellhop
- John Damler as Alan Logan
- Frank Marlowe as Pop Henderson
Reception
The New York Times called it slow-paced, boring, and likely to disappoint fans of the novel.[2]
Noir analysis
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward writes: "The inclusion of amnesia, giving the hero a sense of hopelessness compounded by the frustration of his loss of identity, instills a distinct existential bias into McBride's search. This attitude combines with a pervading sense of corruption and dehumanization to give The Long Wait a fatalistic noir ethos."[3]
References
- "TMe: Box Office Tops from 1950-1959".
- T., H. H. (1954-07-03). "The Long Wait (1954)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
- Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward (1992). Film Noir An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style. The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
Further reading
- Stanfield, Peter (2011). Maximum Movies - Pulp Fictions. Rutgers University Press. pp. 95–98. ISBN 9780813551036.
- Collins, Max Allan; Traylor, James L. (2012). Mickey Spillane on Screen. McFarland & Company. pp. 27–35. ISBN 9780786492428.