Movie of the month: Pushover (dir. Richard Quine, 1954)

Image source: IMDB Pushover is a noir ripe for rediscovery. Until Fredrik Gustaffson– one of my favorite film critics– mentioned it in a post about director Richard Quine, I had never heard of it despite the big names behind and before the camera. With Fred MacMurray and Kim Novak in the leads, as well as a subplot involving surveillance, it’s tempting to describe Pushover as a spiritual mashup of Double Indemnity, Vertigo, and Rear Window. And yet it has a special atmosphere all its own. It is at its heart your usual noir story: a cop falls for a criminal’s girlfriend, the two conspire to make off with stolen loot, only for the plan to crumble to hell. Yet the film’s blend of romantic yearning and borderline nihilism make it stand out from more hardboiled examples of the genre. It’s strange how heartbreaking Pushover is considering MacMurray plays such an unlikable figure. He lacks the wry wit of Walter from Double Indemnity. His wickedness lacks allure or charisma, and just comes…