GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
BlazeLime
Strong and Moving!
Ceticultsot
Beautiful, moving film.
Usamah Harvey
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
gavin6942
A lawyer defends a migrant worker falsely accused of two murders.What is interesting, first of all, is how the defendant is described as a "migrant worker". That is not incorrect, but I think perhaps the connotation in 1953 is different than in 2017, because now the term would almost exclusively be referring to a Latino employee. In fact, the United Nations defines a migrant worker as "a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national." This, more often than not, would be Mexican farmhands in the case of the United States.Anyway, the film is quite good. I don't know if it was a feature or a B-movie, as it does give the impression of not having big names attached and perhaps a smaller budget. But for entertainment purposes and a but of suspense, it does the job. In retrospect, it also serves as a great example of early work from director Don Siegel.
LeonLouisRicci
Director Don Siegel's Cynicism is on full Display in this Underseen Minor Work that fits in the Film-Noir Category quite Firmly. Siegel once Again Displays some of the Seedier aspects of the Human Condition. Quick on the Trigger Law Enforcement, an Attorney who has a Dual Nature willing to Help the Helpless but Not Adverse to Seducing an Unwilling and slightly Dim Female, and a Court System with some Serious Flaws.Director of Photography John Alton Adds much Atmosphere to the limited Budget, and Jack Elam is a Standout mentally Disturbed Criminal. The much Hated Theremin inclusions are Misplaced but can be Ignored because of the better Touches used by Siegel, Alton, and a good Trio of Actors, MacDonald Carey, Theresa Wright, and Jack Elam. The other Actors Strain for Credibility. Overall, a Minor Film-Noir but Worth a Watch for sure. It's Odd enough and Tense throughout thanks to the Creative Hands of Siegel and Alton.
Spikeopath
Count the Hours (AKA: Every Minute Counts) is directed by Don Siegel and written by Karen DeWolf and Doane R. Hoag. It stars Macdonald Carey, Teresa Wright, John Craven, Jack Elam, Dolores Moran, Adele Mara and Edgar Barrier. Music is by Louis Forbes and cinematography by John Alton.When a farmer and his housekeeper are murdered, suspicion falls on the hired hand George Braden (Craven). Owning a gun that matches the bullets used in the killings, Braden and his wife Ellen (Wright) are taken in for questioning when Ellen panics and is seen to throw the weapon into a lake. Under pressure and wanting to free his wife from duress, Braden confesses to the crime and finds himself on trial for his life. Enter Doug Maddison (Carey), a local lawyer who comes to believe that Braden is innocent and faces a fight against the clock to save Braden from the hangman's noose.The pairing of Don Siegel and John Alton alerts the noir crowd to this compact low budget race against the clock thriller. In truth it's standard fare on a plot basis, with a mixed bag of acting performances (Elam and Wright exempt) and poor use of the Theramin in the musical score (it telegraphs what we should expect and feels on this occasion it's in the wrong movie), but within simplicity of story also comes potent points of worth.As the clock ticks down and the stakes are raised, Siegel and the writers slot in the distasteful workings of the human being. Not only is there the running theme of the law quite frankly being an ass, but there is the bite of the rumour mill, a man forcing himself on to a desperate woman (Siegel zooms in for an emphasised facial shot that is bone chilling) and psychiatry playing a judicial hand; and not a good one at that! Then there is Alton bringing his photographic tricks to compliment Siegel's efforts to lift a standard screenplay to greater things. Angular shots feature but it's with shadows and light that Alton excels, none more so than with the prison sequences. Here is where a frantic Braden is being held and it is a caged hell, because Alton highlights the shadows from the bars on the doors and windows as well, there is no escape from bars, they literally are all around, with one shot showing Alton at his best.It's little seen and most likely forgotten about, and certainly its qualities have been ignored by the none film noir loving crowd, yet this is well worth a peek for those film lovers who like trawling the back alleyways for Siegel and Alton peccadilloes. 7.5/10
David (Handlinghandel)
This is far from the best Don Siegel movie. But, despite flaws in writing and acting, it's gripping and moves along, keeping the viewer on the edge of his or her seat.Nothing is really credible. Theresa Wright as an itinerant farmer's wife? Actors with pronounced New York accents as menacing rednecks? And something about the script seems truly sub-par. The dialogue is not grammatical and this is not a matter of simulating regional speech or signifying class. The dialogue is just not well written.The music, too, is strangely self-contradictory. At first it is pure schmalz, and Don Siegel is not the man for romance, even if it's romantic noir. Then a theramon is introduced and it sounds better.Despite quibbling on my part, it's an engrossing movie. Believable? Not exactly. But, if one cuts it some considerable slack, it works well as a suspenseful kind-of noir.