From the mid-1950s on, American film-making, both studio and independent, started to de-centralize from Southern California in favor of location filming that would achieve an authentic / flavorful look, and / or save considerably on costs. Lately I have been watching many such movies (New Orleans Uncensored, Picnic = Kansas, Anatomy of a Psycho = Colorado Springs, Violent Saturday = Bisbee, Arizona).

Crime against Joe (1956), an indie starring my fave John Bromfield, was shot in five days in Tucson, and its rushed nature results in a disorienting insertion of daylit scenes into a night-time sequence – although oddly, this almost works expressionistically, since our protagonist is getting progressively plastered and scarcely knows whether it IS day or night. Other matters could have been cleaned up at screenplay level (did bail not exist in Arizona?).

Yet somehow, the movie is quite engaging despite the micro-budget sloppiness, which actually contributes to its lived-in feeling. This ain’t some glossy show. And as usual, Bromfield’s lack of artifice as an actor ratchets up the believability level.