There are a lot of muddy transfers at YouTube, but this one is pretty sharp:
on 7/31/2023, 5:39 pm
In one sense, The Big Bluff (1955) is a minor, low-budget film noir, directed by Billy Wilder’s brother W. Lee Wilder (who does contribute some visual touches). But this one has a quite clever script with a wowser of a denouement, about which I’ll only say, pay CLOSE attention during the final 20 minutes! I can well imagine audiences going, “Get out of here!!” Nothing like ending with a flourish.
The basic set-up is that of (refreshingly) an homme fatal (the solidly built John Bromfield, whom I had enjoyed in Hot Cars) preying on a glamorous rich woman with heart trouble who probably has less than a year to live (Martha Vickers).
The story credit goes to Mindret Lord, who sadly committed suicide the year this film was released.
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