Kim Novak, in her official screen debut (she had a bit role in the Jane Russell film The French Line), was Columbia Studio’s answer to Marilyn Monroe and there are some early scenes where I thought I detected Kim doing an imitation of Marilyn’s breathless soft whispering style of talking. Only about 21 years old when this film was released she looks fantastic. Continuously criticized for being limited in range as an actress here she is alluring and provides a decent performance as a femme fatale in this early work. In fact, she is extremely enticing and I for one do not blame MacMurray for being a pushover for her. In real life as well as reel life director Richard Quine became her mentor, and her lover. They would do at least five films together including “Pffft!”, “Bell, Book and Candle”, “Strangers When We Meet” and “The Notorious Landlady.”
“Pushover” is a quick moving low level “Double Indemnity” without The Wilder Touch, nicely written by Roy Huggins who would go on to create the classic 1960’s series “The Fugitive.” Want proof of the good writing just listen to the dialogue in a very early scene where Novak and MacMurray’s characters meet for the first time. There is some crisp double-entendre writing here actually worthy of Mr. Wilder.
The film begins with a bank robbery. Harry Wheeler (Paul Richards) and his partner steal $200,000 from a bank killing the bank guard in the process. We then cut to the outside of a movie theater where Lona McLane (Novak), dressed in a fur coat, is exiting the theater (double feature showing “It Should Happen to You” and “The Nebraskan”) heading for her car. The car won’t start, suddenly a man’s voice is heard asking if she needs help. It’s Paul Sheridan (Fred MacMurray) a man she noticed sitting alone in the theater. Sheridan admits to noticing her too. How could he not? How many beautiful women do you see in a movie theater alone and wearing a fur coat? Paul tries to start up the car, checks under the hood, but admits to not being able to get enough spark, to which Lona seductively replies “I’m not enough of a spark?” A repairman is called who informs them it will take a few hours to fix. The two agree to wait together by going to his apartment while her car is being fixed. It’s made pretty obvious what they do to pass the time.
In the following scenes, we find out Paul is a cop and Lona is under suspicion of being Harry Wheeler’s girlfriend. Once convinced she is Wheeler’s main squeeze the police set up an observation post in an apartment across the street from her place, figuring that eventually Wheeler is going to show up. At one point during the surveillance, Lona puts on her coat and leaves the apartment. Paul volunteers to follow her. She ends up at a hotel waiting for Paul who by now she suspects is a cop. “I had my car checked”, she tells him, “there was nothing wrong. What did you do to it?” Lona is ready to walk out but they are hot for each other and swiftly fall into each other’s arms. Before long the two lovers have devised a plan that will, put Lona’s boyfriend bank robber in jail without the police recovering the $200,000 in stolen money, which Sheridan and Lona will keep and run off with together. Of course, soon things start to go wrong. Nosey next door neighbors, honest cops and too many cover ups all contribute to its failure.
The film is suspenseful with touches of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” voyeurism thrown in when the cops are keeping surveillance on Lona’s apartment, which is for a good portion of the film. They not only check on Lona but also start viewing her beautiful next-door neighbor (Dorothy Malone) who will have a significant impact on the storyline. These voyeuristic scenes do not have the erotic impact or suspense of Hitchcock’s classic. The voyeurism in “Rear Window” is more enticing, as we watch the James Stewart and Grace Kelly characters viewing the going’s-on in the various apartments across the courtyard. Then there is us, the moviegoers, also getting our own voyeuristic pleasures by not only watching what Stewart and Kelly are watching but by watching them also. In “Pushover”, while you see what’s going on in the two women’s apartments, and in the apartment the police setup up for surveillance, it is certainly more exciting to watch Stewart and Kelly than Fred MacMurray and his police cohorts recording conversations and drinking some joe. Of course watching any movie in itself is a voyeuristic act and we as moviegoers are all participants in this guilty pleasure.
After watching these scenes in “Pushover”, you may walk away with the impression that Director Richard Quine was derivative of Hitchcock, or dare I say, Hitchcock was derivative of Quine? Well it was really neither, just coincidental that both films have similar voyeuristic scenes. According to the IMDB website, the two films were not only both released in 1954, but within a week of each other!
Quine keeps the film claustrophobic, hard edged, and moving at a nice pace. As a director, Quine never fore filled his early promise. His choice of films was eclectic (Pushover, My Sister Eileen, Sex and the Single Girl, The World of Susie Wong, Strangers When We Meet) and he never seemed to find his niche. At his best, his films are entertaining without standing out from the crowd. Two of his best comedies, “Operation Madball” and “The Notorious Landlady” were co-written by Blake Edwards. Quine’s career went downhill in the 1970’s mostly confined to TV shows and in 1989, deep in depression, he unfortunately committed suicide. Fred MacMurray was always at his best when he is in his creep mode, in films like “Double Indemnity”, “The Apartment”, and “The Caine Mutiny” where he reveals a slimy quality behind a decent guy façade. Here, like in “Double Indemnity”, he’s a bit of a sap for a sexy dame and Kim Novak is a hell of a sexy dame! From the first scenes in the parking lot when she first meets MacMurray she is incredibly alluring and has the most amazingly seductive eyes. For an actress of supposedly limited talent throughout her career she managed to work with some great directors: Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Joshua Logan, George Sidney and Robert Aldrich. I can only surmise that these talented men must have seen something in her. At her worst she sometimes can be a little stiff. At her best she is alluring, sexy and possesses a captivating aura that just sucks you in. The cast also includes E.G. Marshall as a police Lieutenant. “Pushover” is a decent, entertaining thriller; just do not expect anything new or innovative. Everything here has been done before, crooked cops, a guy who’s a sucker for a beautiful dame and stolen money.
I really like this film and think it’s a very underappreciated noir, so I’m glad to see you reviewing it. You’re right, that it’s possible that people could simply dismiss “Pushover” as being an imitation, but I think it’s simply too well done to cast it away that easily. Going into it, I didn’t even expect to like it as much as I did because I had read reviews that were less than enthusiastic about it. There are certainly shades of Double Indemnity and Rear Window here, but for whatever reason I think that it still works on its own. It’s far from a great film, but definitely one that noir lovers should see.
Yes Dave, it won’t make you forget Double indemnity or Out of the Past however, the film can stand on its own. The more I watch Fred MacMurray, the more I appreciate his talent. For years, I just saw him as the dad in My Three Sons or those Disney films from the early 1960′s.
He has a good comedic talent, just watch the films he made with Carole lombard like The Princess Comes Across or Hands Across the Table. I especially like him when he’s a slime ball like in The Apartment, or Double indemnity or this film.
Well John, I did not see this, sad to say, though I hung with your review and am sufficiently interested in this noirish title. MacMurray is always an actor who interests me (“Double Indemnity”) and of course Kovak is always a looker. The claustrophobic environs and the story hold promise, and though you admit at the end that it’s nothing new or innovative here, it’s still worth a look-see. As always a probing piece with an enagaing overview.
John, I finally got a chance to catch up with your review of PUSHOVER, and as usual, I very much enjoyed what you had to say! While PUSHOVER’s shoutouts to REAR WINDOW and DOUBLE INDEMNITY may come across as a sort of “film noir’s greatest hits,” so does THE DARK CORNER, which is one of my favorites (covered it in TALES OF THE EASILY DISTRACTED and everything!
). In a crazy kind of way, it seems to me that PUSHOVER’s blend of time-honored tropes makes it all the more fun and compelling to watch, almost like hanging out with old friends, especially with terrific leads like Kim Novak and Fred MacMurray! I got a kick out of the “I’m not enough of a spark?” line, too! Great post!
Dorian,
Glad you liked the review. There are some good lines in this film and MacMurray has quite a delievery. As I say in the review, he is never better than when he is in his creep mode. For me, it’s one of those films that are extremely watchable over and over despite the fact it is not a great film but it is entertaining and as you say the leads are terrific. Thanks for taking the time to read.