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Draco L Apr 23, 2019 Outdated crime film starring Brian Donlevy as Walter Williams when his wife, Irene Williams (Helen Walker) conspired to have her husband killed by her lover who with unfortunate events got himself killed in the process. When the husband gains unconsciousness surviving the blow in the back of his head and figures out what happened, he adapts to settling to living in a small town. And it is there he meets a female mechanic, Marsha (Ella Raines) who coincidentally lost her husband in the war. See more

Ron S Jan 14, 2018 I enjoyed this film which has elements of noir (a greedy duplicitous women using another to kill her husband). It's got a well written plot with some standout performances featuring Charles Coburn and in a role playing the detective as solid as concrete, the beautiful Helen Walker playing the duplicitous wife, Ella Raines very nicely portraying the small town love interest perfectly and Brian Donlevy as the wronged husband given a nice leading role not getting too emotional here. Some would call him wooden here, I would call his performance accurate if a little understated. Two interesting parts are from veteran performers Anna May Wong (first film in 1922 and collected an Oscar in 1936 for her role in "The Good Earth") and veteran silent performer Mae Marsh both turn in solid performances here. Unfortunately in the usual Hollywood treatment of Asian performers of the time is patronising. The minor role of Helen Walker's lover played by Tony Barrett is performed with the right amount of bad egg all over it, the line delivery is of a street wise, very shady character and the scenes in the car with Donlevy awkward at best, increasing the tension for me. There is some very nice location shooting and the scoring is nice and rich and employed when required to enhance the more dramatic or atmospheric moments in the film. Having the famed Ernest Haller as cinematographer adds quality to the look of the film. It's hard to imagine it would have been a "B" on the lower half of the bill with a running time just 9 minutes short of 2 hours running time. If it was a "B", well I would consider this one of the better ones! I found I had to view a couple of times to pick up all plot twists and turns particularly after the detective (expertly played by Charles Coburn) starts on the trail of Helen Walker. If your up for a nice little bit of murder and deception with a courtroom trial to top this is the one for you! Just find the better print with the contemporary "Hollywood Noir" at the start of the file prior to a U.S. censorship tag. It's almost splice free and the audio is clear and rich. This isn't a film from one of the "majors" but it isn't "poverty row" either. 4/5 stars. See more

Luke S Jul 26, 2014 Brian Donlevy is minding his own business when he realises that it's his young wife's lover that's trying to kill him with a lug wrench upside of his head. Surviving the attack yet presumed dead he decides to stay underground, on the lam, and let her take the rap for his undoing. Will she get the chair for it? Will he let her get the chair? Sure, this B grade noir is unlikely, but it manages to hold your interest throughout the fantastical twists that it takes. It's serviceable. See more

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