An insurance investigator’s inquiry into the murder of a former boxer uncovers a tangled web of betrayal, a major heist, and a quintessential femme fatale.
Two hitmen walk into a small-town diner and murder ex-boxer Pete Lunn, also known as “the Swede” (Burt Lancaster). The Swede passively accepts his fate, a detail that perplexes insurance investigator Jim Reardon (Edmond O’Brien). Compelled to understand why, Reardon reconstructs the dead man’s life through a series of flashbacks told by those who knew him. The story that emerges is a labyrinthine tale of a doomed love affair with the beautiful Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner), her relationship with a crime boss, and a meticulously planned payroll robbery that ultimately seals the Swede’s fate.
Director Robert Siodmak’s film is a landmark of the film noir genre, expanding a sparse Ernest Hemingway short story into a full-bodied narrative of greed and fatalism. The flashback structure, a hallmark of noir storytelling, masterfully builds suspense as the investigator unearths the layers of betrayal. The film launched Burt Lancaster to stardom in a powerful debut and cemented Ava Gardner’s persona as one of cinema’s most definitive femme fatales. With an uncredited script contribution from John Huston and a famously ominous score by Miklos Rozsa, whose main theme was later used for the television series Dragnet, the film stands as a masterclass in mood, character, and suspense.
Production Co: Universal / 105 minutes / 1946
Director: Robert Siodmak
Screenplay: Anthony Veiller
Main Cast: Burt Lancaster (‘Swede’ Andersen), Ava Gardner (Kitty Collins), Edmond O’Brien (Jim Reardon), Sam Levene (Lt. Sam Lubinsky), Albert Dekker (Big Jim Colfax), William Conrad (Max), Charles McGraw (Al)
