THE CHASE (1946)

The Chase (1946) – Noir by Moonlight and Madness

A delirious dive into the depths of noir, The Chase (directed by Arthur Ripley) unspools like a fever dream you can’t quite shake. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich, it stars Robert Cummings as a drifting war vet who finds himself chauffeuring for a wealthy gangster in Miami—played with smooth menace by Steve Cochran. But it’s not long before the gangster’s haunted wife (Michèle Morgan) and a desperate plan to escape throw him into a whirlpool of danger, desire, and distorted reality.

And then—Peter Lorre enters.

With his unmistakable voice and unsettling calm, Lorre plays Gino, the gangster’s right-hand man. He doesn’t say much, but every glance, every murmur carries a threat. Lorre’s performance is like a slow-turning screw—he never steals the spotlight, but he darkens every corner of the screen he touches.

Add in Miklós Rózsa’s eerie score and Ripley’s expressionist direction, and The Chase becomes something more than a crime film—it’s noir on the edge of the subconscious. Shadows blur into nightmares, and time bends without warning.

Confounding? At times. But unforgettable? Absolutely. The Chase is the kind of noir that rattles around your brain long after the final fade-out—with Peter Lorre’s quiet menace echoing in the distance.