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Studio One - Two Sharp Knives
episode 2.10
USA 1949
produced by Worthngton Miner for CBS
directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
starring Stanley Ridges, Wynne Gibson, Theodore Newton, Peggy French, Richard Purdy, Hildy Parks, Robert Emhardt, Seth Arnold, William Lee, Tony Pellerin, Paul Porter, Richard Robbins, Abe Vigoda, Roland Wood, Charles Kuhn, Richard Martin, Frank Marr, Len Lesser, William Witt, Elmer Lehr, Judith Rich
screenplay by Carl Bixby, based on a story by Dashiell Hammett
TV-series Studio One
review by Mike Haberfelner
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A man arrives in a small town with his little daughter to meeet his
estranged wife (and mother of the child) who has left him 10 years ago.
However, at the ttrain station, the man is apprehended, as the local
police chief Anderson identifies him as a murderer from a wanted-poster.
Soemthing doesn't ring quite well to Anderson from the start, but the
evidence (the photo on the poster) is obvious. The next morning, the man
is found dead in his cell, it seems he has hanged himself. However, then
the apparent suicide turns out to have been murder, and the wanted-poster
turns out to be a fake. The estranged wife of the man arrives, and she has
a waterproof alibi for the time of the murder ... but when she comes face
to face with her daughter, she breaks down and confesses everything, that
the whole plot was just a set-up made up by her, her boyfriend Bill and a
couple of crooks to get her husband's life insurance and then live with
Bill happily ever after. Bill of course is on the local police force (to
murder someone in a cell at the police station one has to be),and not only
that, he's also engaged to Anderson's daughter and destined to be his
successor. Apparently not knowing that, Anderson takes Bill with him to
apprehend the crooks, walking into a trap. But when the crooks get ready
to shoot Anderson, they find themselves surrounded by the entire policde
force. Turns out Anderson has suspected Bill all along and has now seen to
it that the trap prepared on him sprang on Bill instead ... The
direction of this early TV show is very stagey and a bit heavy handed, but
that hardly matters at all since Two Sharp Knives is a very well
acted crime drama, based on a good script made from an enjoyably mean
Dashiell Hammett-story. Recommended - if you can find it.
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