Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

MikeMagi An intriguing detective story, thanks largely to two actors, Mickey Knox and Morris Carnovsky, whose careers were threatened by their politics during the witch hunts of the late 1940s. Knox steals the film as a sociopath who heists a payroll, then discovers there's no way to pass the marked money. Carnovsky isn't far behind as his father, a small town grocer who can't bring himself to turn in his psycho son. Kent Taylor as a railroad detective and Sheila Ryan as the sister of a murder victim are nominally the stars. But it's the first-rate character acting, coupled with effective location camera-work (like a shoot-out on a rising drawbridge,)that make this a grade B thriller worth watching.

bkoganbing Western Pacific Agent with Kent Taylor in that title role is the story of a railroad cop investigating the on the job murders of two employees. This particular Lippert Production rises a notch or two above the usual Lippert film with a pair of guys with blacklist troubles.Morris Carnovsky and Mickey Knox who were having trouble getting work at the larger studios play father and son. Knox commits a payroll robbery and kills two employees of the Western Pacific to do it. The nature of the crime suggests some familiarity with the town and the railroad operation. The Western Pacific's top cop Kent Taylor gets the case.This film really belongs to Knox who gives a great performance as a stone cold killer. Before the climax Knox kills a fence who was holding him up in a deal.Carnovsky suspects right away that it could be his son, but he dare not say anything and hopes his suspicions are wrong. He's a very good friend of Sheila Ryan whose brother Robert Lowery was one of the first pair of victims. Carnovsky will bring a tear or two to your eye as a father who desperately hopes his son is not a killer.Lippert films went quite a bit beyond their normal quality in bringing Western Pacific Agent to the movie-going public in 1950.

MartinHafer Lippert Productions made some very low-budget film noir style films. They are generally enjoyable (there are exceptions) but one inexplicable thing detracts from many of them. Burlesque (and grade-z) comic Sid Melton is in most of the films--for absolutely no apparent reason. His had comedy works horribly with this sort of gritty film and you wonder if he was Lippert's son or something! Now I liked Melton on "Green Acres"--here his hokey humor was fine, as the show was a comedy! Here, he only serves to frustrate viewers like me who love noir. Why would they want a kooky eye witness?!?! Apart from Sid, the rest of the movie ain't bad for a B. It tells the story of a nice sociopath who returns to his home town--only to go on a killing and maiming spree. It's a nice portrait of a man without a conscience and they did a pretty good job of telling the story, but it also seems more like a TV episode in quality--especially since every time a stunt was needed, they cut away from the picture!!! Cheap! But otherwise, not bad--and I agree with the reviewer who called this 'film noir lite'--kind of like noir, but a cheap stripped down version.

Gunn Another in the Lippert Films series, this is a typical B-movie with a no-name cast, save character actors Dick O'Neil and Sid Melton, wooden acting and directing and a simple plot/story. Still, it is an entertaining film, albeit cheesy by today's standards. The script is also sophomoric but somehow engrossing. Western Pacific Agent involves detectives who work for the railroad solving crimes and other dilemmas, in this case the murder of a railroad payroll carrier and another victim. This is included in Forgotten Noir Vol. 4, a set of B-movies that are, if nothing else, good fun to watch. They have a style reminiscent of 1950s television dramas. You won't find any 'method acting' here.