The Scarf (1951) 5 of 10 stars ⭐ Script could have used a rewrite...

Script could have used a rewrite...

THE SCARF (1951) 5 of 10 stars ⭐

BASIC PLOT: 

John Barrington, a convicted killer, takes a chance to escape from a lunatic asylum. He's lost his memory, but he doesn't believe he's a killer. He sets out across the vastness of the California desert, almost dying in the process. Just in time, John comes across a grizzled old man named Ezra Thompson, who prefers isolation and raising turkeys, to human companionship. Ezra thinks about turning John in, but there's something about his story, that makes Ezra think twice.

Can John untangle his own mind, and figure out if he's a killer? Or is someone dangerous lurking, and pulling his strings?

WHAT WORKS: 

*THERE'S LOTS OF GREAT DIALOG HERE, especially at the beginning, between Barrington (John Ireland), and Thompson (James Barton). The bleak atmospheric setting of the turkey farm left me wanting more.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: 

*KILLER WOULD'VE BEEN TOO SICK TO FUNCTION "I was only haunted by four walls, you were haunted by the dungeon of your own mind," Barrington says to the killer. But isn't that the point? If the killer was that sick, would he be able to hold down a job, etc?

*LOTS OF FILLER There's lots of clunky, unneeded filler that goes nowhere in this movie. A bar fight, a scene where Barrington goes back to Louie's Bar to see Connie (Mercedes McCambridge), for no reason, just unnecessary filler.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: 

*This movie definitely has some problems, but if you enjoy noir, you'll probably like this.