calvinnme The plot of this little crime drama was excellent, minus a few plot holes. The execution was not so great mainly because of the blunted acting. There are mainly B players in this one, and the only one I immediately recognized was Hurd Hatfield of "Picture of Dorian Gray".A man answers the door one night only to be shot by a messenger boy, or at least somebody who is dressed up like one. His daughter, Laura Mansfield, (Joyce MacKenzie) gets a fleeting look at the assassin, but not good enough for a positive ID. Meanwhile, Frank Niles is arrested for the crime because he was a business competitor of the murdered man and his car was in the neighborhood at the time of the murder.This entire thing boils down to Laura trying to solve this crime from the bottom up, once she becomes convinced that the person she thought did the actual shooting is guilty (Stanley Clements as Jackie Wales). The police ignore her attempts to help and her tips because they are interested in the "Mr. Big" who ordered the hit. So why did the police have a lineup of messenger boys if they had no intention of arresting one? Plot hole number one. So Joyce gets hired as a cigarette girl at a club, "The Vogue", that she is sure is involved in her dad's murder.Meanwhile there is so much back stabbing and double dealing among the actual criminals you must pay attention or you will get lost, for this is a pretty fast paced film. And the weird thing is that none of them seem unnerved about a murder victim's daughter nosing around their nightclub.This thing has great atmosphere, a good pace, and a pretty good story, but the acting is flat and mediocre, making it hard to care about the characters that much. Plus, no reason is ever given as to WHY anybody would have killed Laura's dad in the first place - Plot hole number two. It is a passable time killer, though, if you are a student of noir.

tedg The story is good because it is plotted well. It starts with a Ted-friendly fold: a guy is in a movie with his girl. He takes a break and kills someone and returns as if the murder was a movie. Well, it is.What follows is a collection of tough guys and dolls navigating through different interlocked schemes to cheap each other in some way. A few die. The good plotting comes from the intricate interlacing of the perfidy. The hero here is a mobster's "good" daughter who goes under cover to find the killer of her dad. The formula would have her won and lose both. She doesTed's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

kidboots Weasley Stanley Clements plays Jackie Wales, a messenger with a gambling addiction. When the film opens he is at the movies witha girl. During intermission he goes out to buy popcorn - but in reality he has been hired as a killer and his target is Mansfield, Laura's father. Laura is played by Joyce Mackenzie, a poor man's Barbara Hale - they look as though they could be sister's with Joyce being the more sophisticated of the two.Laura is convinced that Jackie is the killer and befriends him so she will be able to catch him out. Hurd Hatfield (looking a bit older than his Dorian Gray days) plays Stretch ("I don't like dames"), the shadowy manager of the club that Laura gets a job with. He is also the mastermind of the whole operation. Stretch and the club owner (Albert Decker) are planning to bump Jackie off to stop himfrom "shooting off his mouth".Laura falls in love with Stretch and confides her real identity to him.... little does she know.I found this a very good noir. Starring small timers or actors that had seen better days, it had quite a few twists. To me Hurd Hatfield proved Dorian Gray was a role he was born to play - he was a one dimensional actor with an expressionless face.The film was very good.

Paul Curtis This is a good crime/suspense drama, of a piece with the other film noir dramas presented by Turner Classic Movies (and therefore well worth the time to watch). There is at least one neat twist in the plot which makes the film better than most of its kind. If you have seen a LOT of postwar crime films (as I have) you may find them predictable...and this adds to your appreciation of clever plot devices.Fans of radio's "Have Gun Will Travel" will enjoy seeing John Dehner in a small but crucial part.