The Big Combo (1955)

It starts well. The shadows are in evidence, and there's a noisy boxing match roaring in the city. Behind the scenes, a girl is pursued down those expressionist corridors, with only the self-gratified roar of the crowd as backdrop. As The Big Combo starts we’re right in there at the heart of the caper, although the real story of The Big Combo is that of Cornel Wilde’s cop, and his obsession with catching the cooly menacing crime lord, Mr Brown, played brilliantly by Richard Conte.

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Torture, radio style in The Big Combo (1955)

The Big Combo is rich in slick talk, from the sharp-toned to the evil-tongued.

Mr Brown: “I'm gonna give you a break. I'm gonna fix it, so you don't hear the bullets.” Mr Brown’s lines are as snappy, slick and inspiring as anything in noir. Consider:

“Diamond, the only trouble with you is, you'd like to be me. You'd like to have my organization, my influence, my fix. You can't, it's impossible. You think it's money. It's not. It's personality. You haven't got it. You're a cop. Slow. Steady. Intelligent. With a bad temper and a gun under your arm. With a big yen for a girl you can't have. First is first and second is nobody.”

And

"Joe, tell the man I'm gonna break him so fast, he won't have time to change his pants. Tell him the next time I see him, he'll be in the lobby of the hotel, crying like a baby and asking for a ten dollar loan. Tell him that. And tell him I don't break my word."

It’s a strong image. Somewhere in that breaking process is a hapless victim, trying to change his (soiled?) trousers.