Der Tiger von New York (1955)

Der Tiger von New York: Directed by Stanley Kubrick. With Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Jerry Jarrett. Ready to catch a train to his hometown, a washed-up boxer tells us about the strange and twisty events that happened to him the past couple of days.

“A young Stanley Kubricku0026#39;s bare-budget film – perhaps his first u0026quot;mainlineu0026quot; movie – shows him still in the minor leagues but very close to making it to the Major Leagues. In fact, he did so the following year with u0026quot;The Killing,u0026quot; a film noir that still ranks among the best. At any rate, this is an opportunity to see Kubrick at work right before he u0026quot;makes itu0026quot; in the business.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith an almost-nothing budget you arenu0026#39;t going to draw too many professional actors, and that certainly was the case here, but still is worth watching. Itu0026#39;s definitely a u0026quot;Bu0026quot; noir that is more melodrama than crime until the ending when it gets very, very suspenseful featuring a chase over New York City rooftops and then into abandoned warehouses.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJamie Smith and Irene Kane are the stars and if youu0026#39;ve never heard of them, itu0026#39;s probably because they werenu0026#39;t exactly Humphey Bogart and Bette Davis, acting-wise. The other star, Frank Silvera, at least is a name I recognized.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, the best feature may be the camera-work. It gives us a preview of the visual talents that Kubrick would bring to the big screen in following decade. On its own merits, if you are a film noir fan, youu0026#39;ll want this in your collection.”