User reviews

....which ruined the ending of this movie.

"One Way Street" from 1950 stars James Mason, Marta Toren, Dan Duryea, and William Conrad. Mason plays Dr. Frank Matson, a mobster, John Wheeler's (Duryea) doctor. It isn't clear why the doctor isn't in practice; one assumes he botched an operation or something.

Matson steals $200,000 from Wheeler by telling him he has just given him poison, and that he'll call in one hour with the antidote. He then leaves with the money and Wheeler's girlfriend Laura (Toren). They wind up in a small village in Mexico where the two become fixtures - Matson provides medical care for the people and animals, and Laura says it's the only place she has ever felt safe.

However, Wheeler is looking for them, so Matson makes a tough decision.

Well the code wrecked the end of this film. I was very disappointed.

Someone commented that Mason was miscast - he certainly has a lot of class and expertise for a mob doctor, who are usually drunks whose hands shake. Marta Toren was so beautiful, but she died at the age of 31. Tragic. Dan Duryea is his usual mean self, and William Conrad is on hand as a fellow thug.

Good movie except for...the end.

In the Citadel Film series book on The Films Of James Mason, Mason himself said that he was never told by viewers that they saw this film or was ever questioned about it. I guess that One Way Street might be overlooked in the big budget films that would shortly follow in his career. That's a pity because this one is a good, but fatalistic noir film, something along the lines of Odd Man Out.

In One Way Street Mason is a doctor whose practice is on the wrong side of the law, patching up criminals and not reporting about it. We're never told brought him to this because no one starts this way in the field of medicine.

While on a house call to Dan Duryea's mob after they've pulled a heist, Duryea rides Mason once too often and through a rather ingenious bluff he winds up stealing the loot from a robbery the gang just pulled off. Not only that, he winds up stealing Marta Toren away from Duryea so Dan has two reasons for going after him.

Mason and Toren have to land in a remote village in Mexico when the plane they've chartered develops engine trouble. Even a defrocked doctor is welcome among these people where Mason and Toren settle and start to enjoy life a little, but life and the past do catch up.

Duryea's henchmen include William Conrad, King Donovan, and Jack Elam who are as scurvy a lot as you'll find. Basil Ruysdael who is always an authority figure of some kind is fine as the local priest at the village where Mason and Toren are staying. Look fast or you'll miss Rock Hudson in a bit role as a truckdriver with one line in the film.

Marta Toren who hoped to succeed both Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman as a cinema sensation from Sweden died tragically young. She never broke into A pictures in America, but she was for me one of the most beautiful women the big screen ever saw.

If your genre is noir you cannot go wrong with One Way Street.

One Way Street opens beautifully. Sirens shriek through the Los Angeles nightscape while, from the window of an apartment building, an elegant woman (Marta Toren) smokes as she watches them disappear. She reports her observations to Dan Duryea, who has just masterminded a big heist. One of his lieutenants (William Conrad), however, has taken a bullet, which gang-sawbones James Mason is summoned to extract. He does so, meanwhile launching a ploy by which he departs not only with all the loot but with Toren – Duryea's moll. Although fate almost deflects their escape, they finally cross the border to Mexico.

And here the movie settles in for a long siesta. Mason and Toren find themselves in a primitive village where Mason's medical skills are pressed into service (he cures a horse but can't save a little girl). There's plenty of warmed-over wisdom issuing from an itinerant priest (Basil Ruysdael) and plenty of danger from bandidos who keep cropping up, swigging mezcal while wiping their lips with the backs of their hands and eying Toren up, down and sideways. Despite these distractions, she seems to like it there and wants to stay, but Mason wants to press on to Mexico City (and their divergent goals and low-key temperaments serve to keep the romance distinctly cool).

This snooze is interrupted a couple of times by cuts back to Los Angeles, where Duryea and Conrad are bent on recouping the money – and on revenge. But only when Mason returns to have a face-to-face reckoning with Duryea does the movie spring back to life. And in a rhyme of its earlier, unexpected intervention, fate proves that it always has the last word.

One Way Street was the first feature in English by the Argentinian-born director Hugo Fregonese, who stayed in Hollywood long enough to churn out a few westerns and genre-pictures (Man In The Attic, one of the many versions of The Lodger was his work). From the bookends that open and close One Way Street, he had a feel for the look and pace of film noir, but the thick volume of Mexican folklore they surround turns out to be a not very film-worthy property.

Dan Duryea and his gang have just pulled off a big haul. Doctor James Mason scoops the loot and Duryea's girlfriend, Märta Torén. The two fugitives head to Mexico City, but the plane they're in is forced down in a poor coastal village by a busted fuel pump. The canny and kindly local priest. Basil Ruysdael, talks them into staying and giving medical help to his parishioners. However, Duryea is still looking for them, for vengeance.

It's a well produced story of redemption, and Ruysdael steals the show. He was born in 1878 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA as Basil Spaulding Millspaugh. From 1910 through 1918, he was a bass-baritone for the Metropolitan Opera Company, before going on Broadway and then radio. His movie debut was in THE COCOANUTS in 1929. Aside from some voice-over work in shorts, he next was seen on the screen in 1949. He died in 1960.

I quite enjoyed James Mason's performance here as the calculating "Dr. Matson". He is frequently summoned to treat the hoodlums of gangster "Wheeler" (Dan Duryea) and during one such visit espies a bag, similar to his own, that contains $200,000 in stolen loot. After a bit of macho banter with his patient, he picks up the bag and makes for the door. He has given the boss some pills and any interference will prevent him from getting the antidote! This is the moment that moll "Laura" (Märta Torén) has been waiting for and she decides to abscond with the doctor. Their escape plan doesn't quite go to plan, though - a car and a plane accident - before they find themselves in a small town where his skills and their burgeoning love start to make them wonder if their master plan is still the best one. Meantime, though very much on the back burner, the mobsters are determined to avenge themselves on both of them. It does rather run out of steam with half an hour to go, and though the ending is actually quite fitting it was all just a little bit rushed and, I felt, frustrating! Still, there's some chemistry between the two and Basil Ruysdael's priest, a sick horse and some really lightweight banditos all play to the story quite well too. You'll probably not recall it afterwards, but it's a bit different.

James Mason, Marta Toren, Dan Duryea, and William Conrad all do a wonderful job in this first-rate production of a doctor's misadventures after associating with the wrong kind of people. A few bad decisions is all it takes; that and the Production Code, which single-handedly ruined the end of this film. A doctor hatches a clever plan to rob thieves of their heist money, and takes the moll of gangster Duryea as well. As the two flee to Mexico, there is a turn of events and the good character of the doctor begins to emerge. I will not reveal the miserable ending to this potentially wonderful film, but suffice it to say that those who decided on this ending were merely cowards, and had not a trace of real humanity within them.

When the film begins, a bitter doctor (James Mason) is helping out an injured man who is the member of a mob gang. He isn't doing this out of any sense of duty...he wants money and the mob has plenty after pulling off their latest caper. However, in a surprise twist, the Doc steals their $200,000...as well as the gangster boss' girlfriend! The pair run south to Mexico...and you know the crazed boss (Dan Duryea) will eventually come running after them.

In the meantime, the couple get stranded in the middle of no where in a small town after their airplane develops engine trouble. After a while, the pair grow to like the place and the bitter doctor eventually finds he's a beloved and important part of the the community. They also begin to care for each other. But, as I already mentioned, the gang boss isn't about to let the pair have a happy ending if he can help it! And the Doc considers returning the money with the hope that the evil boss will just let them go.

With gang members like Duryea, William Conrad and Jack Elam, the casting director did a nice job in picking up some nasty and menacing folks to play the baddies. The script and acting are also quite nice. What I also appreciated was that the film was tough and when the two characters became nicer...they still had a hard edge and weren't over-idealistically good. Entertaining from start to finish and well worth seeing if you love film noir.

This movie was a joy to watch and James Mason really shines in his role as well as Dan Duryea, and William Conrad. I loved every minute until the very end which to me was so senseless. I won't give it away but this film would have been a ten out of ten had it not been for this mistake. It is still a very entertaining film.

### Movie Review: "One Way Street"

**By Edward Sterling**

Stepping into the cinema to watch Universal-International's latest production, "One Way Street," directed by Hugo Fregonese, feels like navigating the winding alleys of a noir-soaked labyrinth. This film, rich with the shadowy ambience of crime and retribution, anchors itself in the gritty reality of betrayal and the quest for redemption.

James Mason, delivering a performance both enigmatic and compelling, plays Dr. Frank Matson, a man whose veneer of calm conceals a maelstrom of desperation. Mason's portrayal captures the quintessential anti-hero, a character teetering on the precipice of moral ambiguity, pulling the audience into his tumultuous journey.

Supporting Mason, the luminous Märta Torén as Laura provides a stark contrast to the film's darker themes. Her character, though ensnared in the web of crime, emanates a glimmer of hope and humanity. Torén's portrayal brings an emotional depth that softens the otherwise relentless tension.

Dan Duryea, portraying the menacing mob boss, adds to the film's sinister undercurrent. Duryea's ability to infuse his character with a chilling sense of unpredictability keeps viewers on edge, embodying the palpable threat that looms over Matson's attempt at escape.

Fregonese's direction, paired with Irving Glassberg's evocative cinematography, masterfully captures the essence of noir. The interplay of light and shadow creates a visual symphony that underscores the film's central themes of conflict and resolution. The searing landscapes of Mexico, where much of the film unfolds, provide a stark, almost surreal backdrop to Matson's flight from his past.

"One Way Street" excels in its pacing, maintaining a relentless drive that mirrors Matson's own urgency. Frank Skinner's score punctuates the film's tense moments, heightening the sense of impending danger and the fragile hope of salvation.

However, while the film triumphs in many aspects, it does not escape certain clichés inherent to the genre. The storyline, though gripping, treads familiar paths, and at times, the dialogue slips into predictable tropes. Despite these minor shortcomings, the film's strengths lie in its atmospheric tension and the robust performances of its leads.

In a year where the silver screen has been graced with a multitude of crime dramas, "One Way Street" stands out as a testament to the enduring allure of the noir genre. It is a journey worth taking, a descent into the dark heart of humanity that ultimately suggests that redemption, though elusive, is not entirely out of reach.

In conclusion, "One Way Street" is a cinematic venture that, despite its occasional foray into the well-trodden, captivates and compels with its stark visuals, strong performances, and an unflinching gaze into the shadowy corners of the human psyche. It is, without a doubt, a notable addition to the noir canon of 1950.

A 50's noir film with James Mason, I was definitely looking forward to One Way Street. Initially the visuals and direction start off solid enough but at the same time the viewer is already hit with quite a bit of cliched/heard that before dialogue. The tired dialogue continues through the first part of film but fortunately is mostly confined to when the 'bad guys' are on screen. I've always enjoyed James Mason but I was not convinced of his feelings toward Toren and didn't feel much of a spark/connection between these two lead characters, which sadly weakened the story considerably. I did really enjoy Basil Ruysdael's performance as the priest and feel it brought something very positive to the film. I was still engaged enough to wonder how this story would play itself out, only to be blindsided by the inappropriate and disappointing ending. Despite some bright elements One Way Street is rather average.

The Noir genre occasionally crossed the Mexico's frontier where the story takes place, but mostly of time with a bunch of American characters with a few Mexicans only, usually as bit players, I mean part of the backdrop so to speak, in One Way Street it's totally opposite, the producers used a massive of Mexican on the cast as secondary roles as few times, to the point to be called as Noir-Spaghetti by two key reasons, firstly by Hugo Fregonese on direction and lastly countless Mexicans on supporting casting, attached on a small Mexican Pueblo, it's a little intro over this thematic an unusual Noir picture.

The plot summarized consist in a post robbery at Los Angeles's apartment where the gang boss John Wheeler (Dan Duryea) is misleading by the cunning Dr. Frank Matson (James Mason) ends up stolen a bo.oty of 200.000 dollars cash and slipping away of the town bring together Wheeler's gorgeous escort girl Laura Thorsen (Martha Toren) and heading by small plane to Mexico City, nonetheless by gas pump's failure the pilot has been forced to landing in rural area, meanwhile expecting a pump's repairs in a weak or so they meeting a local friendly Father Moreno (Basil Ruysdael) who lodges them in nearby warm pueblo.

Soon the long awaiting allowing for to embittered Doctor a possibility to return in clinical practice again, even treating a sick mule, after a successful healing he turns your eyes to the careless people in town, often sponsored by the enthusiastic Father, backing on a pleasant way plenty, in other hand the charming Laura also finally figures out an easy mind in that peaceable village insofar has in touch with a welcoming smooth people, both finally get together in an veritable affair at last, thus wondering a quiet life there Dr. Frank is willing to be back the stolen money to easy the angry Wheeler, aiming for keep there forever in peace.

Too many posted here countless complains concerning the fatalist outcome, whereof I don't agree whatsoever, the storyline is full of holes as the brainer Boss Wheeler has been deceived by an implausible gimmick, he seems not so smart as he at the outset thought, over an British character to fill in this role I suppose that would be an native American guy could fits better than James Mason surely, anyway an fine entertainment at all.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

Well, James Mason is smooth, handsome, and cultured with the classy accent from across the Atlantic pond. The synopses around these same websites do sort of spoil the story's suspense-fullness, but I'll try not to decapitate it too much. Wm Conrad was soon if not already Marshal Dillon in GUNSMOKE on the radio, as I'm of that vintage when childhood radio-listening was a pre-occupation. Dan Duryea is blah, bland, and bluh. Sorry, but I like that cruddy alliteration too much not to waste it out of context here, but Mr. Duryea at least has such an interesting surname. I recall brands and commercials from radio in the 1950s, but now back to film noire, a bleak French phrase that's over-utilized though you give us a more-better descriptive category. In Rock Hudson's brief role he sounds so d young. But no Doris Day, so it can't be the cornball if not pswaydo-sophisticate mid 1950s Rock Hudson technicolor movie. Read Bosley Crowther's hatchet/nasty review, because you'll see why he was one of a kind, before my time, and so now I realize why candid film critics are not invited to cocktail parties and funerals, unless it's the burial of an assassinated film critic.

It's a Film-Noir Entry in the Pivotal Year and Decade-Turn that had an Effect on the Spontaneous, Organic Formation of the Genre.

The Most Noticeable and Most Transformative is the "Move" Toward the "Police-Procedural" and also the Migration to the Suburbs and the Inclusion of Children in the Plot.

Although in this one, the "Move" is South of the Border where the Mexican Way of Life is in Sharp Contrast to the Dangerous, Doom-Laden Streets, Alleys, and High-Rises of Urban America.

It'a Contrast to Striking and Deep and the Film Flounders, Making an Unsuccessful Effort to Steer the Off-Course Plight of the Medical Doctor (James Mason), His Stolen Girl and Loot, back on the Straight-and-Narrow where All is Well.

The 1st and 3rd Acts are Cracker-Jack Film Noir, with Genre Icons Dan Duryea, Jack Elam, and William Conrad are On-Hand to Dish Out the Violence and Snap-Pat that Film-Noir Demands and it is as Good as it Gets.

Too Bad about that 2nd Act where things are Sunny, Hopeful, and Sweet. It's Not Bad On its Own, it does have a Slight Edge and some Highlights but Pales in Comparison to the Dark Goings-On in the Beginning and End.

That are so Good, it Makes the Movie Almost a Must-See. But at the Very Least, it's...

Worth a Watch.

I tend to mostly avoid James Mason films in a British setting as he frequently evokes the staid, bloodless, colonial, leather driving glove school of acting of England in the 1950s.

Here, however, as a fish out of water character in this U. S / Mexican saga he is rather good. The accompanying cast of Marta Toren, William Conrad and the always excellent Dan Duryea are hard to resist. The final act contrasts of a baked Mexican pueblo back to a rain sodden nocturnal American city are extremely evocative. Ditching the Noir urban for a village, and redemption in the bucolic charms of country life is a novel take for a film of this genre.

Here's the kicker - very hard to find a 35mm converted version of this film, instead it is the horror of Blu ray / HD manipulations which are in ready supply, a technology which completely destroys old movies. The displaced filmic world, the wealth and grain of celluloid is replaced by shiny, immediate, clear cut images, completely erasing depth of field and the necessary suspension of disbelief - instead, constantly jolting the viewer out of absorption and into an over awareness of sets, props and the artifice of production.

I have bought up all my favourite Noirs on Blu Ray but cannot watch any of the them as the choice aesthetic brilliance and considered cinematography has been completely eradicated by this compulsion to clean and make clinical the essential elements of early 20th Century celluloid.

Take out the scratches, the burns, the obvious ravages of time, but for God's sake leave it as a film rather than these plastic BD upgrades which resemble TikTok video idiocy rather than the three times removed wonder of another place entirely - the nether world of cinema.

James Mason has made many doctors on the screen, and they are all very thorough and interesting characters with some depth and usually some terrible problems, and this is no exception, but still this doctor is something different from the others. There is no suicidal tendencies here, no deadly jealousy and no call for some hero to engage and interfere, but rather an appointment with the inevitable. He is actually doomed from the beginning and aware of it, and he accepts the challenge and adapts himself to its consequences, while the lovely Marta Toren gilds it with her charming presence and personality, a fugitive from somewhere whom a gangster brought up (the always nasty and revolting brute Dan Duryea) for something of an ideal to himself, while she needs something better provided by James Mason.

The first scene is actually one of the most exciting in all the chonicles of the noirs, in unbearable suspension all the way up to the first inevitable car crash - there will be others. Also that first street of only one way will come back later.

There are many other gripping ingredients as well, the role of the padre, the village life, the local hoodlums and their berserk folly, the beautiful environment in contrast to the smoky and rainy gangster stinking darkness, and Frank Skinner's excellent music, perfectly suited to both the romantic situations and the pastoral idylls of Mexico.

In brief, it's a typical James Mason noir, and it could hardly be more typical. He played the same kind of character any number of times, but every time it's equally fascinating in its unfathomably attractive tragedy.

Johnny Wheeler (Dan Duryea) his moll (Marta Toren) and his gang of thugs have just pulled off a two hundred thou caper and are waiting for the rest of the boys to show to make the split. A defrocked doc Frank Mason (James Mason) plans otherwise and comes up with a daring plan to abscond with both cash and babe, though his main concern remains the cash. Flying off to Mexico their plane runs into engine trouble and they end up in a village where the doc reawakens to his vocation, tending to villagers and animals. Johnny meanwhile remains intent on evening the score.

Truncated at both ends, One Way Street is a diffuse mess with its abrupt opening and lack of background behind the sophisticated Mason mixing up with surly Duryea and his gang. Grossly miscast, he seems out of place and a poor fit in both of his environments. Marta Toren registers as the love interest while Duryea does his usual requisite venal simmering out for revenge.

Argentine director Hugo Fregonese direction is uninspired, visually bland andthe supporting performances outside of Basil Ruysdael, stereotypically rote and overwrought, especially in the hideout scenes. The sudden abrupt finish is a jarring cop out. Made during Mason's poor start in Hollywood and it shows.

Only for the presence of Dan Dureya it got one star. The most generic, cliched, boring noir movie you'll ever see. Horrible casting, predictable story line, utterly unconvincing plot- what else could you possibly want? This movie is helpless. If you are new to the genre check out all the noir movies rated above 7.5 on IMDB, and there are plenty of those.

I'll be brief, as several other reviewers here have pointed out some of the flaws with this movie. James Mason is miscast as the criminal gang doctor who finds redemtion in a Mexican village; he doesn't satisfyingly convey the doctor's reformation as a helpful healer. The last act of the movie is illogical, and the very ending a casualty of the Production Code. Why did they cast all of the Mexican roles with Latinos and cast the fairly large role of the priest to an Anglo actor, who unlike the others, speaks with no Mexican accent, and is obvously dubbed when he speaks some brief lines in Spanish? Why are several of the Mexican peasants, living in a very small rural town, fluent in English ? Why is Jack Elam not credited for his brief but important role?

Too disagree with one or another of the other reviews here, Rock Hudson's role lasts maybe ten seconds and consists of one line of dialog, totally unnotable if he were not to become Rock Hudson movie star. The cirematography is just fine, and the sound is in perfect sync, in the version I watched for free on Youtube in Oct. 2023. Dan Durea has a surprisingly small supporting role, and is less nasty, and less impressive than in many of his other films.

Lastly, Mara Toren is compelling and very beautiful in the Ingrid Bergman manner, but it's hard to believe her passion for James Mason, who is his usual emotionally strong but cold self in a role that calls for an actor who can portray some warmth and loving feelings.

Director Fregonese has never made it anywhere near as much as the middle of my list of favorite directors, there is always some mediocrity about his work. In ONE WAY STREET he stitches together a mixed bag, part of which resembles a poor copy of TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948), notably the segment where Walter Huston saves a child in a Hispanic village.

Mason does a good job in the thankless part of Dr. Matson but he cannot rescue it from a poor script, pedestrian photography and the absence of a counterweight to his quality acting: Dan Duryea goes "missing in action" for so long that his role becomes meaningless. One question harried me to the end: How did Duryea survive Dr Matson's poison while the latter and Toren were in Mexico for about a year if we never see Duryea get the antidote?

Good thing that William Conrad provides the film's main surprise. Bad thing: Toren is physically gorgeous but her acting is substandard, and her lines below par.

Basil Ruysdael as Father Moreno gives some quality support to Mason, but the Mexican heavies struck me as unconvincing, if not downright naif.

I am a Mason fan and completist, so I am glad I saw it through but, as a whole, this production code venom-injected product does not deserve more than 5/10, especially because it becomes obvious that a happier ending would have made a difference. For the better, too!

My husband and i couldn't stand this movie.

A dull, toneless James Mason is a depressed British gang-doctor in Los Angeles. A Swedish actress is his passionless love-interest who has been kept captive by psycho gangster Dan Duryea since she was 14 years old. William Conrad is a fat, lazy thug. Jack Elam poses a threat. Rock Hudson delivers his tiny part handsomely.

So much for Los Angeles Noir. Suddenly, Viva Mexico!

Stereotyped Mexicans, including banditos, peasants, rapists, a priest, and a curandera! enact meaningless roles as guitars are softly strummed. There are goats. chickens, and a horse. The priest is wise. The village peasants are trusting, like little children. Some of them actually are little children.

We disliked this movie so much we watched the second half in little snippets, making fun of it as we skipped ahead. When it ended, we were glad.