Director: Irving Lerner
Cast: Vince Edwards, Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernardi, Caprice Toriel
Have I Seen it Before: Never.
Did I Like It: Any quick glance into the film’s history and legacy tells the reader that this film was foundational to the early work of Scorsese. It’s easy to see it, Claude’s (Edwards) early, nervous leaps into the world of violent crime bring to mind some of the eccentricities of Robert de Niro’s performance as Travis Bickle. The style of the film is also the sort of vibrant, pleasant surprise one always hopes to get from a B picture. The score alone practically (although not totally) obliterates the memory of a climax that plays a little too quickly and awkwardly for my tastes.
But there’s more than seeing were young Marty started to absorb some of his stylistic choices. Where there’s never any degree of doubt that the hero of Taxi Driver (1976) was crazy, Claude slinks through most of the film never boiling beyond a slightly raised voice. He’s far more frightening. He might show up at the door, and if he shows up at the door, it’s far too late for you. You might even think you have the angle on the world and hire him out yourself, but that is hardly going to save you from much of anything.
Honestly, this film has had more impact on the genre of crime films than even anything that Scorsese did, or even more than the likes of The Godfather (1972). I’d be willing to put a decent amount of money on the notion that the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto III was taken from our anti-hero here, not just in name, but in cool everyman silence that is far more unnerving than any psychotic the movies it influence might throw our way.