Grade: B-
Synopsis: A war hero (Humphrey Bogart) investigates his buddy’s disappearance following their return to the states.
Dead Reckoning isn’t a very original movie; but that’s okay because it steals from the best. Take the cast for instance: Humphrey Bogart’s performance is really an amalgam of his characters in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Big Sleep (1946) – two of his finest films– ; as his foil, Morris Carnovsky’s fills Sydney Greenstreet’s shoes admirably; and finally there’s the love interest, Lizabeth Scott, who’s appearance and character bear a more than passing resemblance to Lauren Bacall’s in The Big Sleep.
Unfortunately, while Scott may look and sound somewhat like Bacall, she’s not the genuine article. Scott simply can’t hold her own against Bogart, a fact that becomes more and more apparent as the film unfolds, and the chemistry between her and Bogart is marginal at best, which robs the film’s ending of much of its emotional impact.
Despite this casting misstep, Dead Reckoning is still enjoyable. The script crackles with great dialog (including a memorable line lifted almost verbatim from The Maltese Falcon) and Bogart carries the film with ease; which he should, considering he’s already done it twice before.
Bottom Line: An entertaining mix of Bogart’s best detective films hampered by a weak leading-lady.
