The Lineup
Based on a TV show that I am unfamiliar with, featuring the San Francisco Police Department, The Lineup works both sides of the street, spending equal time with the law and the outlaw. Warner Anderson, who played the same part on TV, is the stalwart detective. He's investigating a strange crime in which a ship passenger's bag was stolen by a cab driver, who ends up running over a policeman before being killed. It turns out that one of the souvenirs contains a baggie of heroin.
A local crime syndicate has made passengers unknowing mules, hiding these baggies so they could get through customs. Two gunmen, Wallach and Robert Keith, are hired to pick up the baggies and deliver them. If that means killing someone, so be it. Wallach is described as a psychopath with no filter. He's more or less managed by a suave fellow (Robert Keith) who doesn't get his own hands dirty.
Keith says the job is going to be "smooth," but of course that's a signal that it won't, as there will be something that they don't anticipate. Along the way there are good set pieces, such as a murder in a steam bath, another killing in a mansion, and a terrific climax on the Embarcadero, which was under construction. The highlight is the meeting of Wallach and "The Man," who tells him he's dead because he's seen his face.
I don't think this qualifies as noir because there is no moral ambiguity. The good guys are good, the bad guys are evil, and there's no gray area. This falls under both categories of police procedural and heist movie, as there a lot of scenes involving forensics and the crooks planning their assignment. So, not noir, but a compact, tension-filled film.
A few interesting things about Robert Keith--he was the father of actor Brian Keith, and was once married to Peg Entwhistle, the starlet who committed suicide by jumping off the Hollywood sign.
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