Railroaded!
| Railroaded! | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Anthony Mann |
| Produced by | Charles Reisner |
| Screenplay by | John C. Higgins |
| Story by | Gertrude Walker |
| Starring |
John Ireland Sheila Ryan Hugh Beaumont Jane Randolph |
| Music by | Alvin Levin |
| Cinematography | Guy Roe |
| Edited by | Louis Sackin |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000 |
Railroaded! is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by Anthony Mann starring John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont and Jane Randolph.
It was based on the same real life case that inspired Calling Northside 777.
The innocent owner of a van that is unsuspectingly used in a back-room bookie operation robbery is "railroaded" (informal, refers to the conviction of someone based on false or weak evidence without proper corroboration) for the killing of a cop during the getaway.
Clara Calhoun is a beautician with a shop in New York. Her shop is in fact a front for a bookmaking operation. One evening when she closes up for the night, she gives a silent signal to two masked gunmen lurking outside. These two bandits then burst into the shop and hold up both Clara and her unsuspecting assistant, Marie Westin. The money they get hold of is betting money from the illegal operation.
During the robbery, a policeman just happens to be in the neighborhood. He sees the hold up and tries to interrupt the robbery. When the policeman intervenes, one of the robbers, Duke Martin, shoots him down with his gun. Before drawing his last breath, the police officer manages to shoot and wound the other robber, "Cowie" Kowalski. The two robbers then escape the scene in a laundry truck, and Duke drops off Cowie at a doctor's house for medical care. Before leaving Duke reminds Cowie of the plan to implicate a certain Steve Ryan in the crime.
Later on, Clara and Marie are interrogated by detectives Mickey Ferguson and Jim Chubb. Marie describes both robbers as black-haired, but Clara insists that one of them, the "shooter", had sandy hair. Clara's version is believed, and soon the sandy-haired Steve Ryan, who usually drives the laundry truck and whose Navy scarf was found at the shop, is found and brought in for questioning. After a round of tough questioning by Mickey and Chubb, Steve is then taken to a hospital, where Cowie identifies him as the killer.
Steve claims that he is framed by Cowie for something he didn’t do. He says the reason for this is that he beat him up for making a pass at his sister Rosie. But the detectives don’t believe Steve’s story. Clara too confirms Cowie's identification, and the unfortunate Steve is arrested. Steve’s sister Rosie is sure of her brother’s innocence.
Rosie pleads her brother’s case to detective Mickey, but he is quite convinced of Steve’s guilt and intends to perform a thorough investigation. Clara, who has come up with the robbery scheme together with Duke, who in fact is her boyfriend, starts drinking heavily, angering Duke in the process. Their plan was to steal the money from Jacklin Ainsworth, Clara’s gambling boss and the owner of the Club Bombay.
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