Independent film from the 50’s which, although seemingly being another standard noirish story and actually being so plot wise, truly succeeds in delivering excitement unto the watcher.

Its start is for sure slightly slow and conventional for a film noir but is at the same time backed up by good dialogue and some interesting shots and sequences. But, the fun begins when we get halfway through the film and the mystery starts to unfold. The tension is perfectly build providing very thrilling (even though quite cliché) scenes and making you wonder if your assumptions of how things will go are correct up to the very end.

This sense of doubt mixed with thrill is definitely reinforced through the strong performances of the entire cast. Angela Lansbury as the fearless and tough Doris Hillman and Claudia Barrett as her sweet and sensible little sister Madge are splendid, a knock-out from start to finish.

But, the curious case, in the acting department, is that of the lead, Keith Andes (who plays Edward Shaw). Initially you have the feeling of “ooohhh, this is why this a small film, the main performance sucks”, but oh boy! how wrong is that assessment! As the movie progresses and you really feel engaged and worried for the main character’s well-being is when you actually become aware of “Damn! He is actually great! I don’t exactly know how, he does not seem that good to me, but he managed for me to certainly care for him”. The only explanation that I find is that it is a very minimalistic, subtle type of performance, it is not flamboyant, you do not really sense it through its voice and line-reading, which is quite monotone, you do not feel it through his facial expressions which remain stoic throughout the film, the one and only element is his look, his stare. Through his eyes you understand all his emotions: lust and desire, worry, pain, defeatedness, happiness, fear, tension, relief… All because of his eyes.

All in all, a nice little noir which still if being true that it feels quite conventional and slave to the genre to a certain extent, the embracing of its simplicity alongside a good script and great acting makes it and enjoyable short and sweet ride.