Black Tuesday

Sometimes, when you get the right actors pulled together for a single project, those performers can overcome a weak script and turn out something truly special. More often than not, though, what you get is a film that is filled with great performances but the overall experience is still disappointing. Thus is the case with Black Tuesday, a movie that looks like it would have all the elements of a true classic but ends up being only slightly above average. With a lesser cast this film would fall into obscurity, of interest only to fans of the genre with a lot of time to wade through all the schlock out there. But casting Edward G. Robinson and Peter Graves allows it to stand out just enough that it still gets regular viewers based on that star power alone. 

The basic plot revolves around Vincent Canelli (Robinson) and Manning (Peter Graves), two men on death row. On the night they are to be executed, both men escape, alongside several others and a handful of hostages. Canelli uses the other prisoners as a decoy to slow down the police, leaving them behind shortly after the escape. His ultimate plan is to use Manning, who has a lot of money stashed away where the police can’t find it, to fund their disappearance. But Manning is wounded during the breakout. On top of that, Manning has a bit of humanity, something that Canelli lacks, and he doesn’t like some of the choices Canelli makes along the way, especially his casual killing of hostages.

Edward G. Robinson could have easily slummed his way through this picture. This role is one he had played for nearly twenty years at this point with heavy traces of Rico from Little Caesar and Johnny Rocco from Key Largo among others. From his first moments on screen, sneering and pacing around in his prison cell, he is doing what he does best, exude menace and danger. He’s not slumming it here; there are moments of subtlety, but the script doesn’t give him enough to really elevate this character to the same levels as those other films. Peter Graves gets a bit more nuance, having an actual character with some moral dilemma to him. While Robinson commands the screen with his overwhelming persona, Graves is far more interesting to watch and examine. 

Perhaps the worst part about this picture involves the finale. Canelli, Manning, and their hostages are trapped inside their hideout while the police surround the building and a shootout takes place. The officer in charge of the siege shows no concern for the lives of the hostages, including Father Slocum (Milburn Stone), knowing full well that innocent lives are at stake as well as the public outcry that would result from any civilian deaths. This callous attitude doesn’t build trust in our boys in blue and can actually build sympathy for the criminals. This results in one innocent man killed and should have resulted in some sort of punishment against the officer in charge. This is never addressed after the fact which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. 

So much could have been done with this script to address the various elements such as capital punishment and the legal ramifications of the police action in the finale. Instead, the only thing it really addresses is the lack of humanity in Canelli and just how far Manning can be pushed before he will turn on him. There is also lip service to Manning wanting to die on his own terms and not in the electric chair. This stuff is interesting but underdeveloped. While there is a lot of good stuff in this film, it also feels like a movie that fails to live up to its potential. That doesn’t make it not worth watching, but expectations have to be curbed beforehand. 1954 - 80 minutes