Thomas Gomez

John Garfield was one of the great actors of his time. Sporting similar physical attributes as Charles Bronson, who would earn fame and fortune a couple decades later by plying in beloved adventure films followed by a string of lower grade action flicks, Garfield is clearly the less remembered of the two. This is unfortunate, for a cursory glance at the actor’s resume suggests a enviably varied career littered with starring and supporting roles that most men in Hollywood would envy.

Seasoned film noir viewers who take a chance on Robert Montgomery’s Ride the Pink Horse for the very first time are in for a unique experience. The director and fellow screenwriters Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer confidently borrow from several noir tropes, only to shed different light onto them, their efforts producing a movie that feels familiar yet fresh all the same. The basic plot is one seen many a time in motion pictures of the era, particularly in the aftermath of the Second World War when many such leading men suffered from a post-war cultural malaise.