One Way Street

An uncredited Jack Elam has the draw on Marta Toren and James Mason in One Way Street

Hugo Fregonese's One Way Street, a middling to good B Noir from 1950, was the first Hollywood film by the Argentine director. The flick is a brisk, yet brooding 79 minutes, alternately compelling and ludicrous. James Mason plays a Dr, Feelgood to a criminal gang whose boss is Dan Duryea at his most paranoid and cynical. That cynicism is shared by Mason's character who is described as having "no faith in anything". Mason swindles Duryea out $200,000 of robbery money and takes off with his moll, the latest Swedish import Marta Toren, on the way to Mexico. As in many of his films from this period, Mason gets to play a heel on the run, one of his specialties.

Unfortunately, the heel finds redemption south of the border. A savvy priest ensconces Mason and his lady in a small village where they find connubial bliss and where Mason ministers to afflicted villagers and their animals. A white savior bringing the wonders of science to the superstitious natives. There is lot of goo centered around the village children and the banditos featured seem leftover from the Mexican revolution. However, Mason is eventually located by Duryea and goes willingly to his fate. As Duryea, who is always most enjoyable as a total louse, puts it at one point, "Stop the silly drivel."

Fregonese never shirks from his job in One Way Street even when the script is at its most mawkish. He gives the ending of the film, a reprise of the doom laden opening, the notes of deterministic fatalism that are required for the Noir genre. His talents are best seen in The Raid and Black Tuesday. Mason is superb as ever. What a voice! The supporting cast is generally strong, particularly William Conrad (TV's Cannon), Jack Elam, and Basil Ruysdael. Ms. Toren was a lot better than I expected. She died prematurely at the age of 31 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.