In this period, film noirs with a persecutor vary in their political perspective. For example, in the right-wing noir, NAKED ALIBI (1954), Sterling Hayden’s persecution of Gene Barry, continuing even after he’s dismissed from the force for his violent behavior, is vindicated, and the film ends with Hayden triumphant. In the left-wing noir, TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), Orson Welles’s illegal methods of framing the guilty are exposed by his partner, and the film ends with Welles’s ignoble death. Another left-wing noir of persecution is I CONFESS (1953), in which the inspector of a murder, Karl Malden, badgers Anne Baxter, in front of her husband, into admitting she’d had an affair with a priest, Montgomery Clift. Clift, however, doesn’t reveal who the killer is. The film’s title is perfect for the McCarthy era, but it’s ironic since Clift never succumbs to Malden's interrogation.
“Allied Artists’ Loophole is one of the numerous exercises in ‘it could happen to you’ storytelling that surfaced in the noir films of the McCarthy era. With obvious parallels to the red baiting of the day, it served to remind 1954 audiences that not all was well in the world, and that innocence didn’t immunize any citizen from persecution…
“As a film that brokers in the attainability of the American Dream, much of its conceptual darkness comes not from the unfair circumstances thrust upon the hero, but instead from its depiction of the man responsible for the hero’s misfortune. He is neither a bank robber nor a police officer, but a sociopathic insurance investigator long since bereft of his judgment. One can argue that this man, played vividly by the iconic Charles McGraw, is the real noir protagonist in Loophole.”
As the review says, persecution could befall the innocent in the McCarthy era, and McGraw is, indeed, the film’s real noir protagonist. Yet, while the review associates Barry Sullivan, the it-could-happen-to-you character, with noir films of the McCarthy era, the film's noir protagonist, McGraw, isn't given this historical association. The review fails to contextualize McGraw with other, contemporaneous noirs in which there is, similarly, a persecutor who represents authority. Often, as agents of law enforcement, they may be vigilante cops.
A list of vigilante cop noirs is as follows. They appear most frequently around the core of the McCarthy era.
1953
Big Heat
I, The Jury
1954
Human Jungle
The Long Wait
Naked Alibi
Ring of Fear
Rogue Cop
1955
Crooked Web
Kiss Me Deadly
1956
Female Jungle
1957
The Midnight Story
My Gun Is Quick
Street of Sinners
1958
Touch of Evil
Charles McGraw fits very well into this trend. However, the review inaccurately interprets the end of LOOPHOLE. It says, “The film’s most fascinating moment is its final one, when an exonerated Mike, restored to his job at the bank, looks up from his orderly column of figures to see Slavin inexplicably lurking outside his window--as the narrator confides that once again ‘Mike Donovan’s sitting on top of the world...or is he?’ It’s in this moment, when we recognize that there will always be Gus Slavins in the world, that we begin to wonder if it’s possible to ever truly be safe.”
Although the narrator speaks those words, what happens afterward refutes the conclusion of the review. That is, the film's ending isn't downbeat but very upbeat. The LA detective on the case, Don Haggerty, enters Sullivan’s bank office to wish him well. He looks up and sees McGraw outside and staring through the office window. Haggerty says, “Oh, no. Don’t tell me he’s still trying [to pin the crime on Sullivan].” Sullivan’s expression is neutral; he shows no fear. Haggerty removes his hat, smiles and gives a little bow toward McGraw. McGraw removes his own hat, tips it toward Sullivan and Haggerty, then turns and walks away. Offscreen, the last we hear on the soundtrack are Sullivan and Haggerty chuckling. Why? Because of the humor they find in McGraw's prank to come to the bank and look menacingly through the window -- as if he were "still trying."
Contrary to the review’s interpretation, the film finishes with McGraw’s acknowledgement of his error. The review only considers McGraw as a persecutor, and that he is unable to be otherwise. The review fails to recognize that the film shows that McGraw can change, and that he does change. As the last character shown, he remains the film's noir protagonist. In the finale, he's no longer malevolent. He is a reformed man; he has changed for the better. That is one indicator of the film's politics. And, of course, another indicator is that the film shows that the innocent, like Sullivan, will obtain justice. For the deserving, contrary to the review, the world is safe. LOOPHOLE is neither a right-wing nor a left-wing noir. The ending reveals that its politics are (sunny) liberal.
The following link is to my more extensive post on this topic.
http://www.filmnoirfile.com/naked-alibi/
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