Intense characters, led by Glenn Ford's portrayal of "Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion," make this one of the better film noirs of the period, at least one of the ones I enjoyed the most.
Ford is a believably 100 percent honest and tough cop who is unrelenting in getting his wife's killer. (His wife is killed early on in a car bomb.) Ford takes the law into his own hands, which really contradicts what he stands for, and is not least bit apologetic for his actions, either. Make no mistake: this is a pure "revenge" film.
Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jocelyn Brando, Alexader Scourby, Jeanette Noland and Carolyn Jones complete the cast of "name" actors of the period. No surprise that Marvin plays the lead villain. Grahame almost steals the show as Marvin's girl who gets scalded when the latter throws hot coffee in her face - one of the more shocking scenes in film noir history. She then, understandably, switches allegiances.
It was kind of fun to see Marvin at such a young age. This was my first look at Scourby. Pro football fans know his distinctive voice well, as he became the voice of the NFL Films for many years.
One of the attractions of this story is the pace: it is fast-moving, and it's not too dated either, despite being over 40 years old. This is highly recommended for crime buffs of any era.
Ford is a believably 100 percent honest and tough cop who is unrelenting in getting his wife's killer. (His wife is killed early on in a car bomb.) Ford takes the law into his own hands, which really contradicts what he stands for, and is not least bit apologetic for his actions, either. Make no mistake: this is a pure "revenge" film.
Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jocelyn Brando, Alexader Scourby, Jeanette Noland and Carolyn Jones complete the cast of "name" actors of the period. No surprise that Marvin plays the lead villain. Grahame almost steals the show as Marvin's girl who gets scalded when the latter throws hot coffee in her face - one of the more shocking scenes in film noir history. She then, understandably, switches allegiances.
It was kind of fun to see Marvin at such a young age. This was my first look at Scourby. Pro football fans know his distinctive voice well, as he became the voice of the NFL Films for many years.
One of the attractions of this story is the pace: it is fast-moving, and it's not too dated either, despite being over 40 years old. This is highly recommended for crime buffs of any era.