The storyline centers about a persistent and upright cop named Dave Bannion ( Glenn Ford ) happily married ( Jocelyn Brando ) and with a daughter . He is stubbornly adhering to track down a mobster ( Alexander Scourby ) and his henchman ( Lee Marvin ) . Dave is helped by the gangster's girlfriend ( Gloria Grahame ) . In spite of killings Bannion is determined to bust the criminal ring . But the corruption , ambition and greed create a spiral of hate, murder and vengeance.
Columbia Pictures film production , put all the force of the screen into a challenging noir drama of furious passions and though there are pretty dialog and violent action is enough entertaining . It is a psychological , dark drama about fatalism , duplicity , pessimism , vengeance , human passions and corruption . Stylish , well designed and compelling drama , although is sometimes annoyingly shrill . The film is a classic cinema noir , packing riveting scenes with an interesting script plenty of surprises and twist plots . The movie gets usual Lang's characters , a man is caught web-like in seedy nightmares of his own making and a tremendously imaginative journey into the depths of human desperation . Love , hating , killing , revenge indeed figure strongly in this brightly seedy portraits of low life as Fritz Lang did also in ¨ Human desire ¨(1954) equally with Ford and Grahame . The well-designed atmosphere elaborately recreated is entirely convincing throughout , including the famous coffee hurtling scene . Wonderful performances from whole casting . Interpretation by Glenn Ford as revenger cop is first class , the evil racketeer Alexander Scourby is top notch and his underling Lee Marvin makes an absolutely hypnotic interpretation , also Willis Bouchey as corrupt Police Lieutenant is first rate . Smouldering Gloria Grahame -married by that time to Nicholas Ray- is magnificent and Jeanette Nolan as manipulating widow who subtly destroys them , winning yet another awesome acting in her account of the predatory domineering . The film contains stunning cinematography by Charles Lang , the photography is extraordinary , setting of lights and shades depict this type of noir cinema and Charles Lang along with John Alton and Nicholas Musuraca are the main cameramen . Good musical score fitting finely to the sensation of menace and suggestion . The motion picture is narrated with agility and slickness by the great director Fritz Lang . The German Lang is an expert on noir cinema such as proved in ¨ Beyond a reasonable doubt ¨, ¨ While the city sleeps ¨, ¨ Secret beyond the door ¨ , ¨ Scarlet Street ¨ , ¨ The woman in the window ¨ and many others . Rating : Above average , a real masterpiece . Worthwhile watching , it's a must see for noir cinema buffs .
Columbia Pictures film production , put all the force of the screen into a challenging noir drama of furious passions and though there are pretty dialog and violent action is enough entertaining . It is a psychological , dark drama about fatalism , duplicity , pessimism , vengeance , human passions and corruption . Stylish , well designed and compelling drama , although is sometimes annoyingly shrill . The film is a classic cinema noir , packing riveting scenes with an interesting script plenty of surprises and twist plots . The movie gets usual Lang's characters , a man is caught web-like in seedy nightmares of his own making and a tremendously imaginative journey into the depths of human desperation . Love , hating , killing , revenge indeed figure strongly in this brightly seedy portraits of low life as Fritz Lang did also in ¨ Human desire ¨(1954) equally with Ford and Grahame . The well-designed atmosphere elaborately recreated is entirely convincing throughout , including the famous coffee hurtling scene . Wonderful performances from whole casting . Interpretation by Glenn Ford as revenger cop is first class , the evil racketeer Alexander Scourby is top notch and his underling Lee Marvin makes an absolutely hypnotic interpretation , also Willis Bouchey as corrupt Police Lieutenant is first rate . Smouldering Gloria Grahame -married by that time to Nicholas Ray- is magnificent and Jeanette Nolan as manipulating widow who subtly destroys them , winning yet another awesome acting in her account of the predatory domineering . The film contains stunning cinematography by Charles Lang , the photography is extraordinary , setting of lights and shades depict this type of noir cinema and Charles Lang along with John Alton and Nicholas Musuraca are the main cameramen . Good musical score fitting finely to the sensation of menace and suggestion . The motion picture is narrated with agility and slickness by the great director Fritz Lang . The German Lang is an expert on noir cinema such as proved in ¨ Beyond a reasonable doubt ¨, ¨ While the city sleeps ¨, ¨ Secret beyond the door ¨ , ¨ Scarlet Street ¨ , ¨ The woman in the window ¨ and many others . Rating : Above average , a real masterpiece . Worthwhile watching , it's a must see for noir cinema buffs .