BODYGUARD

I wrote at length the other day about the career of director Richard Fleischer when I reviewed his 1958 historical epic, THE VIKINGS, here on the ol' blog. . I mentioned Fleischer's earlier works, including a brace of terrific film noirs. I had the opportunity today (thanks to TCM, Eddie Muller and his always entertaining NOIR ALLEY Saturday night feature) to see for the first time, BODYGUARD, Fleischer's first noir.

It's a fairly routine little B crime film but it has a couple of interesting things going for it. First and foremost is the star of the film, Lawrence Tierney. Tierney made a career out of playing tough guys in such films as DILLINGER (1945), THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE (1947) and BORN TO KILL (1947) along with appearances in other crime films and westerns throughout the '40s and 50s. He was also, by all accounts, completely off the rails in his offscreen life. A hard drinker with a very short fuse, Tierney had multiple run-ins with the law and his rap sheet was almost as long as his filmography. He wasn't a great actor by any stretch but he brought a wound-too-tight air of unstable menace to his roles even when he was playing a good guy, as he does in BODYGUARD. 

Here Tierney is a former LAPD homicide detective who is hired to play bodyguard to the head of a meat packing company. He discovers that a so called "accident" that occurred at the plant was really a murder and before you know it, Tierney himself is soon wanted for murder (a frame up) and on the run (along with helpful police secretary Priscilla Lane) to uncover the truth about the corruption at the plant. 

It's all standard stuff but Tierney is fun to watch and Fleischer keeps things moving at a brisk clip. The screenplay is by Fred Niblo, Jr. and Harry (IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE) Essex based on a story by George W. George and, believe it or not, Robert Altman. Told you this is an interesting little film. 

Although Tierney's career had many ups and downs, he is perhaps best remembered by modern audiences for his appearance in Quentin Tarantino's vastly overrated RESERVOIR DOGS (1992). Tierney played the crime boss in the film that is just too, too precious (Tarantino screams "look how clever I am!" in every frame) and nowhere near as good as its' legion of admirers think. 

BODYGUARD is a good little thriller with a star on his way down and a director on his way up. Worth seeing.