Director Edward Dein's low-budget film noir, set almost entirely in a dumpy diner on a lonely stretch of the California coast, represents one of the oddest collisions of B-movie crime and Cold War anti-communist paranoia of the 1950s. Terry Moore receives top billing as a waitress named Kotty, and stolid second-rate leading man Frank Lovejoy is Professor Sam Bastion, a nuclear physicist at a local college who hangs out at the seaside café—splitting his time between dating Kotty, gabbing with owner George (Keenan Wynn), and swapping seashells with a short-order cook nicknamed Slob (Lee Marvin), whose easygoing manner can slip into nasty threats (a scene with George and Slob clearing the tables to pump iron and compare pecs is one of the weirdest interludes in American film). The narrative plays out like a bizarre stage play, with characters gathering in the greasy spoon to banter and lob insults and cracks before getting down to the business of stealing secrets for a spy network. And when a harpoon gun is introduced, you know it's going to be used on someone before the credits roll. The offbeat humor, unusual character twists, and strange romantic dynamics (all three men make a play for Kotty, who fends for herself pretty well) elevate this above the level of ordinary Red Scare polemic. A minor cult oddity featuring fine cinematography by Oscar-winner Floyd Crosby, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Shack Out on 101
Olive, 73 min., not rated, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95 Volume 29, Issue 1
Shack Out on 101
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