The Scarf (1951)

What a waste of my time!!!

Purely Joyful Movie!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

From my favorite movies..

B films are usually poorly put together, don't usually have mainstream names, even for 1951. But I read several places it's a B film but I actually don't think it is. I may be wrong. I love film noir films; many people do. It's the edge, I think. This is a different type of film noir, this has a philosophical slant to it. It's mainly in the beginning, and part of the middle, and a bit at the end. But it's there. If you're into philosophical thought, as I am, then the slowness of the beginning shouldn't bother you too much, or perhaps it will, I don't know. Didn't for me.I read a few external/internal reviews that the fight scene was too long. It lasted two minutes (I timed it). I've seen Western B films where fight scenes lasted up to ten minutes. Two minutes is nothing.My favorite two characters were Connie Carter (Mercedes McCambridge) who sings a couple of songs but good songs, and Ezra Thompson (James Barton). Maybe because they brought humor to where humor probably shouldn't have been in such a bleak story. The story is simple: man goes to death row for a murder he didn't commit but gets commuted because apparently he's insane so goes to an asylum. He escapes the asylum to find out if he actually is crazy and committed the crime. Someone helps him out but a few weeks later he gets caught and that's where it usually ends but not in this. He made friends and they choose to prove his innocence.There was one part that you do find in B Westerns I didn't care for: shooting the gun out of the bad guy's hand. That is only easy when it's setup to be easy. And, in these old films you rarely see them aim handguns so just a regular cop shooting a gun at a bad guy's hand isn't guaranteed to work. I felt up to that point, for the times, everything was plausible. That scene prevented me from giving this a 9/10.Overall, I quite enjoyed it.

I liked this movie.Having seen my share of hogwash from this period of American filmmaking, I can say that the movie kept me interested, which I can't say for a lot of the dreck from this period.We are constantly kept wondering who this escaped, supposedly insane, criminal is, and that question is what sustains our curiosity throughout the movie.There is a certain amount of philosophizing in the script, but it never rises to an arcane level, nor does it interfere with plot development.Casting is excellent. John Ireland is a very capable and underrated character actor. The star of the show is definitely James Barton as the hermit turkey farmer. You can't take your eyes of him, and he is the linchpin. Mercedes McCambridge shines as the loose woman with a heart of gold, and she is an excellent singer.My caveat is with the convoluted finish, with too many plot threads wrapped up in an unconvincing and contrived manner. However, the first three quarters of the movie is good enough to carry us through to the weak ending.It's worth a watch.

Some of the dummies who don't get this movie should take the day off and do something useful. Like get a brain. The guy from Florida who thinks the plot lacks credibility should be stopped from going to the movies. You suspend credibility when you see a movie. That is the whole point. Seriously, pal. Superman can't fly. This is a terrific picture full of interesting dialogue that moves away from the cliché. I ask you, when did you last see a turkey farmer with pistol and cello? I won't do the review because others have done it already. I just want to take a pop at the airheads who post on this site and wish they wouldn't.

This is probably best described as a psychological thriller, although, it does not have too many thrills. It does have a trio of lead characters that are fun to watch. John Ireland (Hero or Villain?), Mercedes McCambridge (Sexy Girl who's not as tough as she thinks) and Ezra Thompson (cynical desert hermit who's not as cynical as he thinks)give delightful and skillful performances.There's nice cinematography and good direction here. The dialog is generally clever and snappy. The musical score works well to accent the scenes with a sense of humor and some suspense.The narrative could have been a little tighter. The relationship of Ireland and McCambridge takes a long time to define. The first 3/4ths of the film moves rather slowly, and the final 1/4 of the film seems too quick with too many twists. There are plot holes that stand out much more now than they probably did in 1951. For example, how did they know that Mercedes' laughing would set off the bad guy and cause him to reveal himself. Still, it is no more gimmicky than "Spellbound" or other Hitchcock psychological crime stories of the period.If you're a fan of the 1950's-60's television show "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" you'll probably enjoy this film a lot.