Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

arthur_tafero It doesn't get much darker than this for noir. Director Joseph Lewis' film get the first-class treatment for production values and delivers the goods. Everyone in the film delivers a first-class performance; including Cornel Wilde as the relentless cop, Lt. Diamond, Richard Conte as the despicable Mr. Brown, Brian Donlevy as Brown's chief lackey, who hates his guts, Jean Wallace as the strawberry shortcake moll, and Lee Van Cleef (spaghetti westerns), as a lower-end lackey.The movie has everything you could want for a gangster classic. It is not filmed in black and white; it is films in dark shadows and light shadows. The dialogue is a bit dated, but you will get the message. If you enjoy good film noir, then this film is for you.

Ian (Flash Review)After torturing myself through Batman & Robin and Catwoman, I need to reset and get into a real film. Phew, this well-scripted Film Noir did the trick as it had a good story, character development and striking shot framing. The film's protagonist is Police Lt. Diamond who is on the trail of local gangster Mr. Brown. After eluding Diamond for several years, Diamond has spent too much money and used too many resources and is ordered to halt his investigation. However, he has developed the hots for Mr. Brown's girl so he becomes even more obsessed and personally vested in capturing Mr. Brown. Will Diamond ever catch Mr. Brown? Will he get Mr. Brown's girl? Will Mr. Brown be able to halt Diamond's investigative attempts? This was a fun film to watch as the characters were well- developed, clever dialog, quick pacing, really nice black and white film stock and some twists and turns. Thumbs Up!

SnoopyStyle Police Lt. Diamond (Cornel Wilde) investigates criminal boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Nothing works and Diamond is being pressured to drop the case. There's a mysterious Alicia. He goes after Brown's girlfriend Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace).This is dripping with the hard-boiled noir style. The cinematography is mostly great. The dialog and the acting are all very mannered and stylized. It's definitely a B-movie but it's a good B-movie. My biggest problem is the lack of presence from the main actors. They're all good character actors but I wouldn't say any of them are stars. Again this is only a B-movie.

robert-temple-1 This is a strong film noir directed by Joseph Lewis which packs a good punch. An intriguing and beautiful masochistic heroine, girlfriend to a vicious gangster played by Richard Conte, is played by Jean Wallace. At the time she was married to Cornel Wilde, who plays the idealistic cop who is trying to arrest Conte. Wallace really was 'something' on screen, but in private she was unfortunately 'something else'. Her tempestuous private life, drinking, suicide attempts, and apparent general instability meant that she never achieved what she might have done if she had been more stable. The acting is strong in this film, also from Brian Donlevy as an older gangster who has been sidelined, and from a cast of familiar supporting payers such as Earl Holliman, Lee van Cleef, and John Hoyt. Conte plays one of those gangster supremos who doesn't care whom he kills, but his fingerprints are never on anything. Will they, can they, get him? Wilde tries and tries and tries, and it is a most frustrating business trying to pin something on such an elusive crime boss as Conte. Conte's controlled, sneering, sinister menace is most effective. It is really he and Wallace who make the 'screen combo', though the combo of the title refers to a crime syndicate.