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The Big Combo

The Big Combo

Drama · Crime · 1955

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.

Movie details

The Big Combo

“The Most Startling Story The Screen Has Ever Dared Reveal!”

1955 Drama · Crime 1h 28m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Big Combo?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Asphalt Jungle

The Asphalt Jungle

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Laura

Laura

Drama · 1944

A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Mask of Dimitrios

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A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.

The Lady from Shanghai

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White Heat

White Heat

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Brute Force

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The Outfit

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Leonard is an English tailor who used to craft suits on London’s world-famous Savile Row. After a personal tragedy, he’s ended up in Chicago, operating a small tailor shop in a rough part of town where he makes beautiful clothes for the only people around who can afford them: a family of vicious gangsters.

Odds Against Tomorrow

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An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joseph H. Lewis

Written by

Philip Yordan

Cornel Wilde

Cornel Wilde

Leonard Diamond

Jean Wallace

Jean Wallace

Susan Lowell

Brian Donlevy

Brian Donlevy

Joe McClure

Richard Conte

Richard Conte

Mr. Brown

Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef

Fante

Earl Holliman

Earl Holliman

Mingo

Robert Middleton

Robert Middleton

Police Capt. Peterson

Court is in session

Put The Big Combo on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.