Dead Reckoning

Released Jan 18, 1947

1h 40m

Mystery & Thriller

List

78%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

67%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

War heroes Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) and Johnny Drake (William Prince) are sent to Washington, D.C., by train, but are not told why. During the trip, they learn they're about to receive top honors for their service. Johnny, seemingly terrified by the publicity that awaits him, jumps off the train and later turns up dead. Suspecting foul play, Rip begins digging into his pal's past. He encounters cover-ups, threats to his own life and deadly femme fatale Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott).

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

It’s pure pulp, but Bogart’s hard-bitten-cynic schtick is always worth watching.

Oct 10, 2023

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Humphrey Bogart's typically tense performance raises this average whodunit quite a few notches.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Thomas M. Pryor

New York Times

... If some of the things they [the screenwriters] call on Mr. Bogart to do are just this side of sound reasoning, let it be noted that they have provided the star with some of the best all-around dialogue he has had in a long time.

Aug 8, 2006

Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies

[A] deficient noir.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 19, 2006

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 19, 2005

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A bleak crime melodrama that is too complexly plotted for it own good.

Rated: C+

Nov 1, 2004

Full Review

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Paul G

This is a proper noir film with some great hardboiled one-liners from Humphrey Bogart. The story is reasonably okay. Can Humphrey trust the femme fatal? what happened to his friend? It keeps you watching until the end. Probably the weakest element is Lizbeth Scott who seems rather wooden throughout.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This 1947 film gives us a chance to see one of the iconic actors of the 20th century, Morris Carnovsky, as Martinelli, ruthless gambling tycoon whose sadistic bodyguard, Krause, is played by Marvin Miller, instantly recognizable a decade later as Michael Anthony, loyal assistant to John Beresford Tipton in the classic TV series The Millionaire. Overall, the film is a solid Bogart noir, and who's gonna argue with that?

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

paul d

John Cromwell's Dead Reckoning has some good ingredients. The plot is very good and the Gulf city location is a welcome hint of exotic life in an era when all the crime dramas were set in NY, LA or Chicago. Bogart is in good form and seems to be enjoying himself. Despite all this, the film ends up to be plodding and a bit boring. While Lizabeth Scott is sultry and mysterious, she somehow plays her role opaquely, in reserve, for most of the film. And some scenes go on for too long, with weak transitions. In the hands of a director with some artistic flair, and with a bit of editing to the story, this might have been a very, very good film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Luca D

Critics and audience both can't tell a good Bogart performance from a bad one. They will rate Key Largo a must see, though Bogart barely makes a peep the entire film. Meanwhile a movie like this has him in an staple film noir mysterious narrator type role, where his mysterious attitude bounces back and forth with Scott's damsel with a dark secret attitude. Though the plot is where the movie lacks, the two main characters chemistry makes up for most of it. I enjoyed this movie a great deal and think it is critically underated.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/02/21

Full Review

william d

Decent enough noir from the 40s despite a story that drags a bit and is weighed down by the mediocre acting of Lizabeth Scott.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dan u

I'm a big fan of Bogie..but this movie didn't do it so much for me...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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John Cromwell

Director

Humphrey Bogart

Capt. Warren "Rip" Murdock

Lizabeth Scott

Coral "Dusty" Chandler

Morris Carnovsky

Martinelli

William Prince

Sgt. Johnny Drake

Wallace Ford

McGee

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Synopsis

War heroes Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) and Johnny Drake (William Prince) are sent to Washington, D.C., by train, but are not told why. During the trip, they learn they're about to receive top honors for their service. Johnny, seemingly terrified by the publicity that awaits him, jumps off the train and later turns up dead. Suspecting foul play, Rip begins digging into his pal's past. He encounters cover-ups, threats to his own life and deadly femme fatale Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott).

Director: John Cromwell
Screenwriter: Gerald Drayson Adams, Sidney Biddell, Steve Fisher, Oliver H.P. Garrett, Allen Rivkin
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 1947, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 27, 2010
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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