Roadblock | Rotten Tomatoes (original) (raw)
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Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 02/03/2024 ... a minor picture with major pleasures. It delivers of a heist thriller where we never see the heist... Go to Full Review Ian Thomas Malone ianthomasmalone.com 12/20/2023 Director Harold Daniels assembles all the pieces of a rich noir thriller, but Roadblock never really builds on its compelling deconstruction of American capitalism. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 12/08/2003 A typical low-budget film noir of the early 1950s. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Russ G @RT78760655 Dec 25 I'm grading this on a curve so the 2-star rating is a grudging nod to the low budget. It's not a noir; it's a typical pulp fiction crime story with a stock plot line: honest guy falls for femme fatale goes bad. The 73 minute running time doesn't leave much room for plot twists. See more Alain E @AlainE Nov 22 This is considered a B movie, but provides more pleasure than many A movies. It is a morality tale that informs us that crime doesn’t pay. The male protagonist supposedly was the alternative to Robert Mitchum and personally I cannot stand the self satisfied smirk of Mr Mitchum, may he rest in peace. The female lead had a promising start in her career, protegee of Howard Hughes, but it petered out and died aged 61 with minimal information on the web. She had two unsuccessful marriages that lasted a few weeks each. This movie is a good remembrance. There is a heist on a train, but cleverly what we see is the male protagonist operating a train set. Decent cinematography and appropriate dramatic period music. See more Aldo G @RT54480587 12/23/2023 In the hands of a director more accomplished in the Noir genre this might have become a minor gem. See more 10/16/2021 Interesting twist on the femme fatale trope. Joan Dixon's Diane resists the advances of Charles McGraw's Joe, an insurance investigator, because he doesn't meet her high standards of wealth. Eventually, she defaults on her ambitions to marry into wealth and puts in a claim to her average Joe. But, Joe wants his own insurance, fearing he may lose Diane. Ever try to cancel an insurance policy? It ain't easy. See more ashley h @ashleyhobgood87 09/17/2018 Roadblock is a decent film. It is about an honest LA insurance detective Joe Peters who becomes corrupt after falling in love with sensual gold-digger model Diane. Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Harold Daniels did an alright job directing this movie. I liked watching this motion picture because of the drama. See more 07/23/2015 more like a crime drama than film noir but he thats me not very many shadows in this tale. See more Read all reviews
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Synopsis Joe Peters (Charles McGraw) is resigned to his modest life as a low-level insurance agent when he meets the coldly beautiful Diane (Joan Dixon), whose high-maintenance ways and luxurious tastes are more than he can afford. Desperate to be with her, even as she flaunts her relationship with a powerful gangster (Lowell Gilmore), Joe plans a dangerous bank robbery that goes terribly wrong. As the police close in, both Joe and Diane come to a startling conclusion.
Director
Harold Daniels
Producer
Lewis J. Rachmil
Screenwriter
Steve Fisher, George Bricker
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 4, 2014
Runtime
1h 13m