Dark crime drama about heroine smuggling into the US from China that shows the gritty streets of San Francisco in a different light than normal. It appears that unsuspecting passengers have stashes of heroine placed in the nicknack's they have purchased abroad, and hoodlums such as Eli Wallach and Robert Keith are sent out to retrieve them. One such person is a toupee-less Raymond Bailey ("The Beverly Hillbillies") who dominates much of the first half of the film as a possible suspect in the heroine ring. Another attempts blackmail and is murdered in a sauna; A manservant refuses to allow the gangsters to take the package (to apparently switch it with another package) and looses his life. Finally, a single mother and their daughter are victimized by the gangsters and end up in terror as the gangsters ride them all over SF and the general area (including a newly built freeway) after the little girl uses the powder hidden inside her porcelain doll on its face.
There are some really graphic violent scenes. The set-up for the shooting in the sauna is really suspenseful. Robert Keith is cast against type, and in one scene gives an interesting assessment of the gangster's life compared to normal people's life towards the single mom. Eli Wallach is excellent as the most dangerous of the drug ring. When he is told by the boss of the heroine ring he is dead, his reaction is priceless, leading to one of the best shots of violence since "Kiss of Death's" notorious old lady on the staircase sequence. Later, there is another graphic demise in which the viewer cannot help twitch in agony over the psychological feelings of pain.
I thought that the use of the single mother and young daughter was well handled; It could have been done with more manipulation by the kid being too cutesy pie, but that doesn't happen here. The writers do a good job in preventing those segments from being too cloying.
Columbia's Film Noirs tended to be more violent than others, especially as the cycle of that genre began to cool off in the mid-late 50's. Along with "The Garment Jungle" and the later "Experiment in Terror", "The Lineup" has a realistic horror to it that would later be used in many classic crime shows of the 60's and '70's. However, I didn't find that the title was appropriate for the film; Other than one scene of the line-up of ship's porters in the beginning, it had nothing to do with police line-ups. "Heroine Smuggling" would have been a more appropriate title, although that might sound more exploitive than mainstream.
There are some really graphic violent scenes. The set-up for the shooting in the sauna is really suspenseful. Robert Keith is cast against type, and in one scene gives an interesting assessment of the gangster's life compared to normal people's life towards the single mom. Eli Wallach is excellent as the most dangerous of the drug ring. When he is told by the boss of the heroine ring he is dead, his reaction is priceless, leading to one of the best shots of violence since "Kiss of Death's" notorious old lady on the staircase sequence. Later, there is another graphic demise in which the viewer cannot help twitch in agony over the psychological feelings of pain.
I thought that the use of the single mother and young daughter was well handled; It could have been done with more manipulation by the kid being too cutesy pie, but that doesn't happen here. The writers do a good job in preventing those segments from being too cloying.
Columbia's Film Noirs tended to be more violent than others, especially as the cycle of that genre began to cool off in the mid-late 50's. Along with "The Garment Jungle" and the later "Experiment in Terror", "The Lineup" has a realistic horror to it that would later be used in many classic crime shows of the 60's and '70's. However, I didn't find that the title was appropriate for the film; Other than one scene of the line-up of ship's porters in the beginning, it had nothing to do with police line-ups. "Heroine Smuggling" would have been a more appropriate title, although that might sound more exploitive than mainstream.