Reportedly Ida Lupino referred to herself jokingly as 'the poor man's Bette Davis' or some such. Don't you believe it -- just listen to her croak out 'It's a Quarter to Three' at the piano her resting cigarette is burning a groove into. Heart. Breaks.Lupino plays a beat-up-by-life chan-toozy, limping in from Chicago for a gig at the biggest joint in a tiny backwater. Boss Richard Widmark likes what he sees. So does the boss's buddy/employee Cornel Wilde. Let the fun begin.There is something in the story structure of 'Road House' akin to the top-of-the-genre 'Gilda' released two years earlier: not-unattractive Boss owns the game thus owns the attractive falling-in-love employees -- who may have other ideas -- forcing Boss to prove his power. Polymorphous sexual undercurrents flow in several directions in the male-male-female triangle. One terrifying section of the film demonstrates how legally enslaving a 'have-not' is easy for a 'have' to accomplish in the modern era -- a parallel to the extended sequence in 'Gilda' where Rita Hayworth attempts to escape her 'gilda'd cage'. This is not at all to suggest 'Road House' is a copycat -- it is superior original work, and, if anything, explores variations on familiar noir themes -- lust, rot, and madness on the dark side of the moon of humanity and whatnot.I admit I never 'got' Cornell Wilde before seeing this film -- but the scene where he teaches Ida Lupino how to bowl -- masterful. The guy's got exquisite acting chops and natural sex appeal, and this is the film that lets you know it! His character has a pungent smell -- and it's not unpleasant. Richard Widmark manages to shade his megalomaniac with enough exuberant and attractive normalcy to keep it interesting. Edward Chodorov's script intelligently gives him a plausible descent from slightly-off to utter depravity. Widmark's a solid talent, and this performance compares favorably to similar heavies-with-humanity of the genre, e.g., George MacReady in 'Gilda', Thomas Gomez in 'Johnny O'Clock'.Celeste Holme as the 'nice, semi-involved bystander' character skillfully provides the supporting connective tissue between the suppurating major organs, as she decides where her sympathies lie.Director/Portrait Artist Jean Negulesco's visual sense gives the film a look you like to look at. This is a smart, sexy movie that respects and entertains, at least in the opinion of this humble (albeit somewhat demanding) audient.

A great noir featuring Ida Lupino and three other actors. That's irony if anybody asks you because the other three actors are Richard Widmark, Cornel Wilde and Celeste Holm who would tower over anyone else but had the misfortune to come up against Ida Lupino in a performance she equalled only eight years later when she played Marion in The Big Knife. I stumbled on this gem years ago and I've been trying unsuccessfully to find it on DVD but then I found it on youtube albeit with Greek subtitles and it was as good as I remembered. Widmark was still obliged - a contractual obligation for all I know - to display his psychotic laugh and sociopath tendencies but for roughly half the running time he was allowed to display other aspects of his talent whilst Celeste Holm makes the most of a thankless 'good egg' role. A fine movie of that rare breed they've forgotten how to make.

What stands out in ROAD HOUSE, despite the lurid melodramatics of the plot, is RICHARD WIDMARK doing his standard psychopathic job once he discovers his love life has been compromised when IDA LUPINO and CORNEL WILDE fall in love with each other. Widmark takes full advantage of his character's sudden turn from nice guy to a man consumed by cunning jealousy, trapping Wilde into a charge of theft that almost puts the victimized man into prison.Widmark gets the judge to suspend sentence and has Wilde's parole placed under his management. At this point, the plot becomes wildly melodramatic and churns up the heat for the last twenty minutes of explosive emotional fireworks. The fight scenes between Widmark and Wilde are artfully staged and look painfully realistic.Widmark and Lupino dominate the film with forceful work, full of intensity. Wilde is impressively quiet but determined and looks like he'd make a good bouncer at any bar. CELESTE HOLM has more of an onlooker role that does nothing for her career but does about as well as she can with a nothing part.Jean Negulesco has done much better work in other melodramas (notably JOHNNY BELINDA). Here, he directs the film well but lets the melodrama get a bit too overwrought by the time the film winds toward a conclusion. It's not one of his best films.Ida Lupino's husky voice is barely able to wobble through a few good song numbers, which makes her nightclub scenes a little ludicrous. It's one thing to have a throaty voice for standard pop tunes sung in a husky manner, but Lupino's vocals suffer from her one-note monotone delivery.

This could have been a top-notch film noir classic if it wasn't for Ida Lupino's god-awful singing, made even more laughable by everyone in the film waxing rhapsodic over her re: how fabulous she was. Flat, off-key, talking thru most of it - you name it. Neither sexy nor torchy. Even the worst Grade D picture singers sound better. Can't help but feel that once again, another example of a star's ego ending up ruining what could have been a very nice little film.Cornel Wilde does his usual shtick, which rarely changes film-to-film; but as usual, Richard Widmark shines in a role that he does best.But all in all, a nice little film.