Kansas City Confidential

Directed by Phil Karlson, Kansas City Confidential follows John Payne’s Joe Rolfe as he sets out to even the score with a crew of bank robbers that framed him for a daring heist. Filmmaker Karlson, working from George Bruce and Harry Essex’s screenplay, does a terrific job of initially luring the viewer into the progressively underwhelming proceedings, as Kansas City Confidential kicks off with a fairly electrifying opening that’s focused on the initial preparations for (and eventual execution of) said heist – with the promising vibe heightened by Karlson’s tough-as-nails approach and George E. Diskant’s striking black-and-white cinematography. It’s disappointing to note, then, that the picture segues into an excessively deliberate (and downright sluggish) midsection devoid of engrossing elements, as the emphasis is generally placed on Joe’s far-from-enthralling exploits, including his tentative friendship with Coleen Gray’s Helen Foster, and his tedious, repetitive efforts at worming his way into the aforementioned crew. (The arms-length feel is perpetuated by Payne’s competent yet hopelessly uncharismatic turn, to be sure.) By the time the decidedly anticlimactic finale rolls around, Kansas City Confidential has cemented its place as a distressingly uninvolving endeavor that’s rarely, if ever, as engaging as its top-notch first act.

** out of ****