Hel­l's Half Acre

By chance, a war widow recognizes the voice of her husband, who supposedly died in Pearl Harbor, in a song. He is involved in various criminal activities and is hiding in Honolulu. In a Hawaii that is mostly shown after sunset, in twilight rooms and dried-up rivers, the woman now sets out to find him. One year after City That Never Sleeps, Republic regular director John H. Auer proves once again how atmospherically dense he can stage a film noir and use original locations. (hb) "When I saw the film for the first time, I was very impressed. It is a tragic, multi-layered story about how you can never escape your past. The complexity of the relationships contributes to this, and there are some great and harrowing performances by Wendell Corey, Philip Ahn and Leonard Strong. But the film is primarily about the women. They are all strong and vulnerable and dominate the screen whenever they are seen." (Gina Telaroli, mubi.com, 8.8.2018)35mm restored print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.91 min. / bw / 35 mm / E