moonspinner55 Bank robber, cornered in his room by the police, refuses to give up and shoots at an officer; they return fire and accidentally kill his innocent wife. Two-and-a-half years after sentencing, the deceptively mild-mannered thief escapes from a prison work farm, kills a guard and a farmer, and sets out to kill the police detective's wife to avenge his own spouse's death. Interesting low-budget crime-melodrama, though one that's possibly too tidy and simple to make much of an impact. The dated police business seems very naïve, and most of the female characters are weak-kneed ninnies (a tiresome cliché); however, the usually-bland Wendell Corey gets a rare chance here to play the villain and he's very effective. Script by Harold Medford, from an original story by John and Ward Hawkins, has some amusing similarities to the later "Cape Fear". **1/2 from ****

dallesmac As a huge fan of Budd Boetticher's Randolph Scott westerns, I really looked forward to this 1956 thriller. Though it certainly held my attention, the movie was a disappointment. The tension it managed to create early on as Wendell Corey escapes from a prison trustee farm really went slack--done in by a lousy script. Boetticher keeps things moving, helped immensely by Lucien Ballard's terrific black-and-white camera work. But I don't get the feeling the director was very interested, aside from the scenes focusing on Corey. Other reviewers have rightly praised the scary, yet oddly sympathetic, character that Corey creates here. It's just too bad the script was so perfunctory. Rhonda Fleming seems right as police detective Joseph Cotten's wife, Lila, but her role is so poorly conceived (and she becomes so annoying), that I lost all interest and sympathy for her. The other big negative is Joseph Cotten, at 50+, too old for the police detective. Even worse, you can't watch him without seeing Joseph Cotten; he doesn't create a character and his movements seem all wrong as a cop. Great 1950's LA locales, though. And worth catching for Corey's performance.

drystyx What makes this film so fresh is the "different kind of bad guy" It's film noir, about a meek man whose wife is accidentally killed by police. He vows revenge.Now, this could have been a very ordinary story, but the writer, director, and actors make it a showcase for how to make a film.The mechanics are great. The robbery scene, and the shootout scenes are perfectly done. Much better than most big name directors do such scenes. Even on small screens, these scenes depict the viewpoints of the characters, as well as the description of the action.The action and drama is perfectly balanced. No dull moments, even for those of us who are attention deficit. In fact, like most older films, the illusion of action is given to non action scenes that make such films seem more animated than most of the high octane action movies made since 1970 or so.The big stars, Cotten and Fleming need no introduction, we all know Hale as the skipper, and Pate famous for playing sneaky looking henchmen as in "The Black Caste", these stars play the "stable" characters. It's great to see Pate as a good guy.The bad guy is what sets this apart. He really sticks out. He has to be one of the most three dimensional bad guys ever. He combines meekness with an ability to kill when he needs to, but not the one dimensional sadistic desire to kill that we usually get from more stereotypical Hollywood bad guys.While the film seems to be about him, it is also about the overconfidence of the people who work for the law. At the time of the film, the overconfidence was natural, and probably well placed.And that overconfidence still exists today, when it isn't well placed, which makes this film even more relevant today than it was in the fifties.

Neil Doyle Budd Boetticher was getting his "Director's Day" salute on TCM when I watched this little known thriller starring Joseph COTTEN, RHONDA FLEMING and WENDELL COREY.It's Corey who walks off with the film in what is really the central role as a crazed killer, angry when detective Cotten and his police officers accidentally kill his wife when trying to get him. He vows revenge when he's found guilty of a bank robbery where he was an accomplice, and the rest of the tale involves vengeance and a final comeuppance for Corey.Joseph COTTEN gives only a middling performance, almost phoning in his job as though he knows his colorless role isn't worth much effort. The same for RHONDA FLEMING as his selfish wife, whose sole contribution is a shapely figure and a pretty face obviously ready for many a close-up.What raises this above the level of an average B-film is Corey's nuanced performance as a nerdy man who appears almost sympathetic at times and chillingly ruthless when crossed. JOHN LARCH is especially good as an ex service buddy who used to taunt him for his lack of skill with a rifle. It's Corey's work in the film that puts it into a higher category and makes it a psychological crime melodrama worth watching.Budd Boetticher's no-nonsense approach delivers a solid bit of film-making that lasts a mere one hour and thirteen minutes.Note: The lower case for the name Joseph is either the fault of my keyboard or IMDb--I've been capitalizing it but it comes out each time as lower case for some unknown reason.