Raw Deal (1948)
Raw Deal (1948)
The quintessential Anthony Mann noir, Raw Deal, as this chapter outlines, encountered more censorship issues than any of the director’s previous assignments. PCA chief Joseph Breen tried and failed to stop production on this intense story of an escaped convict who, before fleeing the country with his girlfriend, seeks to settle scores with the man who framed him. Breen’s outrage stemmed from the project focusing on a criminal rather than the police as well as suggestions that the villain was homosexual. The chapter analyzes not only these censorship concerns (several aspects of which the filmmakers addressed) but also the evolution of the storyline from a sub-standard treatment called “Corkscrew Alley.” Through access to the Edward Small papers, Raw Deal production and marketing histories are presented, with emphasis on distributor Eagle-Lion’s colourful promotional efforts. Frame captures analyzing John Alton’s cinematography and the photographer’s theories on certain types of lighting, are included.
Keywords: Noir, PCA, Breen, homosexual, Alton
University Press of Mississippi requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
