The Big Combo features a dangerous triangle of obsession, one between a police lieutenant, a gangster, and a beautiful woman. If that sounds familiar it is because this premise has been around for a very long time and forms the basis for a lot of pulpy crime dramas. Because of the popularity of this formula, the real question when watching this movie is not whether it breaks any new ground but how well it does it.
Lieutenant Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) has a personal score to settle with sadistic, yet crafty, gangster Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Though Diamond has spent a great deal of the taxpayer’s money trying to bring down the gangster, he has thus far come up empty-handed. He has also fallen for Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace), Mr. Brown’s girl who has been trying to escape his clutches but has thus far failed, leaving her depressed and suicidal. Building a case against Mr. Brown has been difficult and Diamond finds himself clinging to a single promising objective, identifying a woman known only by the name Alicia. This name seems to unnerve Mr. Brown whenever Diamond brings it up to him but finding out why seems impossible.
The film is basically a cat-and-mouse game between these two men with the drama of Susan thrown into the mix. While there are several great moments here and there—the lie detector sequence is of particular note—it doesn’t add up to much more than an average noir film in the end. Susan’s turn in the final act and her actions to help bring down Mr. Brown are also a highlight as is Mr. Brown’s insistence that he would rather be killed than spend time in prison. While this isn’t a great film, it is a decent one. It is a little overly serious at times but it also has moments where it lightens up a little, letting the actors chew up the scenery. 1955 - 88 minutes
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