Overview
A relentless detective risks everything to bring down a powerful mob boss.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- fatalistic
- smoky
- classic noir night
- crime movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praise the film's forceful direction, striking low-key photography, jazz-inflected score, and strong performances as exemplary film noir, while noting that its plot can be rambling and implausible.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
John Alton's low-key photography makes the hangar, streets, and criminal interiors visually defined by severe darkness and sharply isolated light.
Lieutenant Leonard Diamond continues pursuing Mr. Brown despite departmental pressure and his personal involvement with Susan Lowell.
Mr. Brown remains effectively insulated from Diamond's surveillance and investigation while his organization controls witnesses and enforces silence.
David Raksin's jazz-derived score, including solo piano, was specifically noted for matching the film's tough mood.
Films like The Big Combo, and why
The Big Heat
shared film noir detective framework, organized crime, police corruption, and hard-edged visual style
Kiss Me Deadly
shared postwar noir atmosphere, obsessive investigators, criminal power structures, and moral compromise
Out of the Past
shared crime investigation, gangster menace, femme fatale dynamics, and terse noir fatalism
Touch of Evil
shared urban noir mood, relentless detective pursuit, criminal double crosses, and stylized violence
Movie Details
- Director
- Joseph H. Lewis
- Release Date
- 1955-02-13
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (180)
Cast
- Cornel Wilde
- Jean Wallace
- Brian Donlevy
- Richard Conte
- Lee Van Cleef
- Earl Holliman
- Robert Middleton
- Helen Walker
- Jay Adler
- John Hoyt
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, FlixFling
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Big Combo about?
- A relentless police lieutenant turns his stalled campaign against an untouchable mob boss into a dangerous personal crusade when he falls for the gangster’s girlfriend.
- What is The Big Combo like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Big Combo as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Big Combo violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Big Combo as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Big Combo?
- Critics broadly praise the film's forceful direction, striking low-key photography, jazz-inflected score, and strong performances as exemplary film noir, while noting that its plot can be rambling and implausible.
- Which films are like The Big Combo?
- Films with a similar feel include The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly, Out of the Past, and Touch of Evil.
- How long is The Big Combo?
- The Big Combo runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Big Combo?
- In United States, The Big Combo streams on Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, FlixFling.
