MITCHUM MOST WANTED Part Two

SECOND CHANCE (1953: Dir. Rudolph Maté)

Big Bob in 3 Dimensions! A rare foray by RKO into the 3-D craze of the Fifties resulted in this soleil noir which featured Jack Palance, fresh from Shane (1953), polishing his now well established villainous credentials. Still young at age 30 Bob's smoldering co-star Linda Darnell was already in a career down turn which would see her largely retreat to Television in a few short years. Mitchum may have been marking time as he finished this last film in his RKO contract with eccentric boss Howard Hughes, but cast as a depressed prize fighter one would never know, particularly given Bob's well-disguised acting professionalism. At the time there were few men who could pose a credible threat to Mitchum onscreen and Palance was one of them, which if nothing else, manages to rescue this potboiler from obscurity. Picturesque Mexican locations also help and the 3-D climax in dangling cable cars provides vertigo inducing thrills. A satisfying trip south of the border that should get a proper restoration on Blu-ray soon.