"It's a blue, sick world, Rip."

After finishing the huge hit, The Big Sleep (1946), Humphrey Bogart went to work on an undistinguished pictured called Dead Reckoning (1947). Like many Hollywood Golden Age stars, this would be a common theme of Bogie’s career. Making one outstanding picture, but then following it up with one or two that had stories and directors below his talent level.

With actors not being able to choose which movies they could appear in, the studios controlled an actor’s career. This is one of the main reasons why the studio system was abolished. Today, modern stars have the ability to choose which movies they want to appear in. If they decide to act in a movie that is below their talents, then that is a decision they can make. People like Bogart never had that option.

At this point in his career, Bogie had script approval. He also had a deal where he could movies with other companies outside of Warner Brothers. Now, if Warners gave Bogie a script and he rejected it, he could be suspended without pay. He would be out of a job until Warners came up with a new story for him, or if he decided to make the original movie he was offered. Also Warners had the ability to override any other studios commitment to Bogie. If they wanted him to play a role in their own movie, he couldn’t go to Columbia and make a picture. So the actor had very little power in the days of the studios. Of course there were many advantages to the studio system, but that can be saved for another day.

In Dead Reckoning, Bogie plays Captain Rip Murdock, who is about to be rewarded with the Distinguished Service Cross. He is on a train with Sergeant Johnny Drake, William Prince, who is supposed to receive the Medal of Honor. On their trip to Washington, Drake disappears.

Being the smart military man that he is, Bogie tracks Drake to Gulf City, FL. Here he finds out that Drake has been killed -- incinerated in a car. In Florida we learn that Drake had joined the Army under an assumed name. He had to change his name because he had murdered a rich man. He had been in love with the rich man’s wife, Dusty, played by Lizabeth Scott. When he was set to receive the Medal of Honor, people in Gulf City would know that he was not who he claimed to be and the whole situation would blow up in his face so to speak.

So Bogie teams up with Coral to find out who was behind the Drake murder. A little hint for you all, film noir has an archetypical bad person. We all have The Maltese Falcon (1941) to thank for introducing this archetype into the culture.

This is a standard film noir. It has an interesting twist with the murdered person being a Medal of Honor recipient, but I would think the rise and fall of Drake would make for a better story than having Bogie run around Florida looking for Drake’s killer.

Florida has changed a great deal since this movie was made. There really is no other reason to watch the movie but to see the vast difference in the state. Of course if you are a film noir or Bogie fan, it still might be worth the watch.