Hells Half Acre (1954 film)

Plot

The drama related the tale of ex-racketeer Chet Chester (Corey) who is blackmailed by his former criminal partners.

Chester's girlfriend Sally (Nancy Gates) kills one of his enemies. But Chester takes the blame, assuming that he has still got enough clout to escape with a light sentence.

Meanwhile, Dona Williams (Keyes) flies to Hawaii because she is certain that Chester is her long-lost husband who was thought to have died at Pearl Harbor.

Cast

Critical response

The New York Times gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Betwixt the start and the finish, an undemanding spectator will find enough sequences of merit to hold his interest. And the story of destined doom and back-alley murder is not entirely implausible. Miss Keyes, an innocent caught in the tangled web, is a luscious young thing who certainly earns her "A" in acting. She shines nicely in contrast to the denizens of Hell's Half Acre, ostensibly a very unsocial area of Honolulu. John Auer, the director, makes his camera capture the most in picture value of what appears to be some very dingy neighborhoods with a resultant atmosphere that creates a certain element of suspense. His method of direction, aided and abetted by Steve Fisher's economical script, is one of sensible brevity without unnecessary frills."