The Burglar - An Intense But Flawed Film Noir

I watched The Burglar for the first time this morning. It's a caper gone wrong, which is one of my favorite kinds of Film Noir. I found it gritty and intense, not flawless but worth seeing again.

Dan Duryea sends his half-sister Jayne Mansfield to case a rich woman's house so that he can steal her fabulous jeweled necklace. Then he and his two thugs swoop in and get the loot after a close call with a couple of cops. 

From then on, we see how crime does not pay, with mayhem, murder and betrayals happening left and right. There are also some moments of awkward romantic revelations that gum up the story a bit. Duryea and Jayne Mansfield are quite good in some key scenes. I've always felt Jayne was a good actress and enjoy seeing her in every film she was in.

Martha Vickers shows up late in the story for more awkward romantic complications but I like her, too, so it was nice to watch her in something I hadn't seen before.

The locations are great in this film, especially at the end, which I think is set at the Atlantic City boardwalk. I love the look of the ocean in black and white, it's surreal and lonely and beautiful. Some of the scenes in this reminded me of those in Sorry, Wrong Number, when the characters show up at the abandoned house by the sea.

Anyway, it's a good film. It has its flaws, mostly a couple of overwrought secondary performances, but definitely one I would recommend.