This film is right up there with Maltese Falcon, Third Man, or Big Sleep! Part of his plan involves making an innocent patsy out of the floral truck driver and ex-con Joe Rolfe (John Payne), a look-alike getaway truck that the police will pursue instead of Mr. Big's truck, to buy time to successfully escape the country. [1], This film is now in the public domain in home video and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony Pictures for theatrical, TV and Internet.[2]. "[14] Dave Kehr of The New York Times gave MGM Home Entertainment's 2007 DVD release of the film an extensive review. Arriving in Barados as Harris, Rolfe meets Kane, whom he identifies as one of the robbers because he chews gum constantly, and Romano, who Rolfe decides is a gang member because he has arrived almost simultaneously at the same time as Kane. Rolfe shows him where the money is. He tells Harris, "I'm moving blind, but I got you for a bird dog to point the way as we go along." His name is Tim Foster, and a conversation with a friend, Scott the insurance investigator, reveals his reason for the robbery. He writes individual notes to Rolfe, Kane, and Romano to meet him on his boat, the Mañana, where the three will all coincidentally be, ripe for pickup by the police. All three are driven there by Foster, who they still don't know is Mr. Big. He writes individual notes to Rolfe, Kane, and Romano to meet him on his boat, the Mañana, where the three will all coincidentally be, ripe for pickup by the police. Foster, seeing his plan threatened, tells Helen he doesn't want to return, but will consider her proposal. Last year I bought this gem for 4 dollars, not the cheap crappy version, but the MGM Noir restored edition. In a 1975 episode of the television series M*A*S*H, titled "The Gun", the showing of this film is announced over the intercom in the operating room, although the film had already been shown numerous times in the camp. Small bought the title Kansas City Confidential off John Gait and Lee Montgomery. I've always loved the handsome, home town boy, John Payne. She then shocks him by telling that she's met Peter Harris and likes him. In the meantime, Rolfe has met Helen and likes her. He called the release an "immeasurable improvement over what had been available":[4], As the film in is the public domain, there are innumerable releases with poor quality transfers from worn theatrical prints. Finally, he is released when his alibi checks out and the real getaway truck is found, and the bank's insurance company tells him that, if he should happen to run across the stolen money, they will pay a 25% reward. He has selected them because each has a reason for fleeing the US. The plot served as inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. [3][4] It was the first of a 13-movie deal Small signed with United Artists in 1952, with ten to be made in the first year. [11] Time magazine said the film "combines a 'perfect crime' plot with some fair-to-middling moviemaking ... Obviously, the 'confidential' of the title does not refer to the picture's plot, which is a very model of transparency. But he slips and reveals he is Mr. Big. The story begins in Kansas City, but most of the film actually takes place at a fictitious fishing resort in Mexico. He is casing the armored car. When the gang members object, Big tells them, intensely, "You can't even rat on each other because you've never seen each other without those masks. [9], The film was popular enough to usher in a series of "confidential" films from Edward Small: New York Confidential, Chicago Confidential, and Hong Kong Confidential. It is sad that this movie fell into public domain. Finding Harris, Rolfe follows him to his hotel room and, finding the mask Harris wore, beats him into revealing the Mexican resort of Barados as the gang's meeting place. They will fit perfectly into Mr. Big's complex plan, which appears to be an ordinary robbery but is much more. I had seen this flick before but I never remember much these days so I am often surprised by the ending. Kansas City Confidential is a 1952 American film noir and crime film directed by Phil Karlson starring John Payne and Coleen Gray. He needs a gang to help him rob it. Where has this classic film noire been hiding so long? On board the boat, Rolfe escapes and finds the stolen money in a cabinet. "[13], When the film was released in DVD format in 2002, film critic Gary Johnson said, "This is prime Karlson. That night, in a poker game, Rolfe sits in and deliberately drops the torn king card, sarcastically saying, "My good luck piece. Kansas City Confidential was the only film made by Edward Small's short-lived Associated Players and Producers, a company formed by Small, Sol Lesser and Sam Briskin.

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