The Cinematheque

“De Toth never makes a false move, never lets up a breakneck pace, and gets sensational performances from one of those amazing casts we once took for granted in Hollywood pictures.”

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

A taut, compelling, no-nonsense LA thriller from Hungarian émigré Andre de Toth (House of Wax), Crime Wave is one of the keystones of 1950s noir. The setup is pure pulp: ex-con Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson), now on the straight and narrow, is implicated in a cop killing when a former cellmate turns up at his apartment with a slug in his gut and stolen cash in his pocket. The disastrous domino effect sees the hapless hero coerced into a bank heist to protect his wife (Phyllis Kirk), while toothpick-chewing police sergeant Sims (Sterling Hayden) sadistically turns the screws. Originally a WB prestige production, Crime Wave saw its budget slashed after de Toth insisted on Hayden over Humphrey Bogart. (“He had a certain rumpled dignity,” the director said of his preferred star.) The punishment was a boon—a palpable sense of urgency grips the agile picture, and Hayden delivers one of his finest, and nastiest, noir performances.

Restored by the Library of Congress in collaboration with WarnerMedia and The Film Foundation in 2020.

“Tough, gritty, and first-rate … There is not one ounce of fat in the finished product … De Toth really elevates [the film] into something special.”

Jeremy Arnold, TCM

“One of the best films noir of all time … De Toth refuses to glamorize [the] ordeal, or stylize his Los Angeles filming locations; he shoots with an aesthetic as frank as Hayden’s manner.”

Andy Crump, Paste