The Big Knife

Oct 25, 1955

1h 51m

★ 6.0

A Journey to the Dark Heart of Hollywood

Overview

Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.

Genres

Crime

Drama

Production Companies

The Associates & Aldrich Company

United Artists

The Big Knife Trailers

Cast

Charles Castle

Jack Palance

Marion Castle

Ida Lupino

Smiley Coy

Wendell Corey

Connie Bliss

Jean Hagen

Stanley Shriner Hoff

Rod Steiger

Dixie Evans

Shelley Winters

Patty Benedict

Ilka Chase

Nat Danziger

Everett Sloane

Horatio "Hank" Teagle

Wesley Addy

Buddy Bliss

Paul Langton

Mickey Feeney

Nick Dennis

Russell

Bill Walker

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

6.5

Handphone

Feb 19, 2009

A talent manager loses his handphone which contains a scandalous video which could destroy his career. He is then contacted by a mysterious caller who has found the phone and blackmails him into committing a series of crimes.

7.1

Nightmare Alley

Oct 9, 1947

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

6.7

Mystery Street

Jun 23, 1950

When a young woman's skeletal remains turn up on a Massachusetts beach, Barnstable cop Peter Moralas teams with Boston police and uses forensics, with the help of a Harvard professor, to determine the woman's identity, how she died, and who killed her.

7.3

Sudden Fear

Aug 7, 1952

Actor Lester Blaine has all but landed the lead in Myra Hudson's new play when Myra vetoes him because, to her, he doesn't look like a romantic leading man. On a train from New York to San Francisco, Blaine sets out to prove Myra wrong...by romancing her. Is he sincere, or does he have a dark ulterior motive?

7.2

Kiss Me Deadly

Apr 28, 1955

One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.

7.3

The Letter

Nov 21, 1940

After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.

7.1

Crime Wave

Oct 22, 1953

Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.

6.4

Side Street

Mar 23, 1950

A struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals an envelope of money from the office of a corrupt attorney. Instead of a few hundred dollars, it contains $30,000. When he decides to return the money, things go wrong - and that is only the beginning of his troubles.

6.3

Suddenly

Sep 17, 1954

The tranquility of a small town is marred only by sheriff Tod Shaw's unsuccessful courtship of widow Ellen Benson, a pacifist who can't abide guns and those who use them. But violence descends on Ellen's household willy-nilly when the U.S. President passes through town... and slightly psycho hired assassin John Baron finds the Benson home ideal for an ambush.

5.0

Acolytes

Mar 25, 2009

Three teens blackmail a serial killer into helping them get rid of a violent bully.

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8.5

Fate

Jul 6, 1911

Jack Norton had traveled the downgrade, had transgressed the laws of man, had trespassed the forbidden, and paid the penalty.

7.5

Night and the City

Jun 15, 1950

Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan.

6.0

After the Fox

Sep 8, 1966

A criminal mastermind sets up a phony film production as part of a plan to smuggle stolen gold.

7.0

Boomerang!

Feb 28, 1947

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

6.7

Murder by Contract

Dec 18, 1958

Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult.

6.9

D.O.A.

Dec 23, 1949

Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.