The Eclectic Choice: Tough Assignment

TOUGH ASSIGNMENT (1949)
dir. William Beaudine


This is from the Forgotten Noir series, Vol. 5 for those of you into specifics. Anyone looking for quality should stay away. This is a true “B” movie, clocking in at 66 minutes, shot in about 10 days and was the second feature after the main attraction. Low Budget Mogul Robert L. Lippert, best known for spearheading Sam Fuller’s first films, produced it.

Don “Red” Barry and Marjorie Steele play an intrepid reporting team who are going to bust wide open the mob’s latest endeavor into…drugs, prostitution, extortion? Nope, Meat! “Bootleg Beef” as the folks in the know call it. You can’t help but chuckle at some of the dialog and situations. When one of the newspaper headlines reads, “Hot Beef Mob Jailed” you’ll blow Mt. Dew out your nose. But it is important to remember that this was made in a time when life was simpler and the Department of Agriculture could kick gangster ass.

All campiness aside, this is an interesting look at what happens when folks sit in a room and peanut butter cup a movie. “Audiences love gangster movies and they love westerns, lets give ‘em both!” On screen it plays more like carob and almond paste, just weird. This isn‘t a recommendation for everyone, juts those who are into the more “obscure for a reason” genre. If you are then you’ve hit the jackpot. It’s loaded with commentaries and mini-documentaries plus the main feature FBI Girl. Easy to rent, or buy it here. There are worse ways you can spend nine bucks.