A woman and the alcoholic husband of a murder victim team up to clear her spouse, who has been framed for the crime.
When Kirk Bennett (John Phillips) is sentenced to death for the murder of singer Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling), his estranged wife Catherine (June Vincent) refuses to believe he is guilty. She seeks out Martin Blair (Dan Duryea), Marlowe’s alcoholic husband, and convinces him to help her find the real killer. As the two investigate a web of blackmail and deceit, their search for clues is complicated by a growing mistrust. Each begins to suspect that the other may be the very person they are looking for.
This taut suspense film, adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich, is a quintessential piece of 1940s film noir. Director Roy William Neill elevates the material above a standard B-picture, opening with a technically ambitious boom shot that establishes a mood of sophisticated dread. The narrative rests on the fraught dynamic between its two amateur sleuths, a cynical drunk and a determined wife forced into an uneasy alliance. The plot’s ingenuity lies in how their investigation uncovers not just external clues but also their own internal doubts and fears.
Production Co: Universal / 81 minutes / 1946
Director: Roy William Neill
Screenplay: Roy Chanslor
Cinematography: Paul Ivano
Main Cast: Dan Duryea (Martin Blair), June Vincent (Catherine Bennett), Peter Lorre (Marko), Broderick Crawford (Capt. Flood), Constance Dowling (Mavis Marlowe), Wallace Ford (Joe), John Phillips (Kirk Bennett)
