One Step to Death

Original title: Yek ghadam ta marg

1961
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

Crime Drama

A group of thieves, including a girl, commits a robbery during which one of them is seriously injured. They kidnap a doctor, then hide and wait for their colleague to recover. The girl meets... Read allA group of thieves, including a girl, commits a robbery during which one of them is seriously injured. They kidnap a doctor, then hide and wait for their colleague to recover. The girl meets a young man who is a police detective...A group of thieves, including a girl, commits a robbery during which one of them is seriously injured. They kidnap a doctor, then hide and wait for their colleague to recover. The girl meets a young man who is a police detective...

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

1User review

See production info at IMDbPro

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Featured review

8/10

A lesson in film noir cinematography from Iran

During a violent robbery, one of the thieves gets severely injured, so they take their friend to a doctor's house and force him to perform an emergency surgery taking his family hostage. Meanwhile, a girl part of the gang meets a man who happens to be a police detective. Things won't go as planned.

One Step to Death (1961) is a true showcase of the best that Iranian cinema has to offer in terms of cinematography and film noir tropes. The opening scene showing the robbery and the criminals' escape as well as the surgery without anesthetic are among the most memorable ones.

Although I consider the scenario to be weaker than the overall atmosphere and stylistic elements (including the music) in this movie, Samuel Khachikian (the director) and Ghodratallah Ehsani (the cinematographer) demonstrate here a genuine chemistry that had not been seen in film noir since Anthony Mann and John Alton. The use of deep camera angles, haunting shadows and facial close-ups is on point. This movie will definitely please any film noir enthusiast.