Discover
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Ben Nye
Makeup Artist -
Lee Strasberg
Adaptation -
Kay Nelson
Costume Design -
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenplay -
Anderson Lawler
Producer -
Howard Dimsdale
Screenplay -
Marvin Borowsky
Story -
Norbert Brodine
Director of Photography
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CinemaSerf 5/22/2023 11:00:35 AM
"Taylor" (John Hodiak) returns from a war-torn Europe after WWII disfigured and suffering from memory loss. Gradually, as his amnesia starts to fade, he recalls the name of one man who might be able to help him get back on his feet so sets off to Los Angeles to find him. Pretty quickly he discovers that this isn't going to be an easy task - and it's only after he is beaten and dumped outside the door of "Christy" (Nancy Guild) that he regales his story and then she decides to get him introduced to police lieutenant "Kendall" (Lloyd Nolan). This is where the story starts to hot up. It seems his friend ("Cravat") was caught up in what appears to be some postwar Nazi money laundering/smuggling and it's a race against time to find the cash before it's gone along with a likely murderer. The largely B-list cast all work quite well here. Nobody is trying to outshine the other and so that allows the solid story to develop and play out properly. It's not just a routine crime drama, there are a few twists and the paucity of characters on screen allows for more of them to become a little more substantial as we progress through this intriguing investigation to quite an exciting denouement. It's maybe just ten minutes too long, it takes a while to build up steam - but still, if you like the genre, it's at the better end and worth a watch.
Richard Benedict
Marine Desk SergeantWhit Bissell
John (uncredited)John Ireland
Thug (voice) (uncredited)John Russell
Marine Captain (uncredited)Harry Morgan
Bath AttendantJeff Corey
Bank TellerRichard Conte
Mel PhillipsSheldon Leonard
Sam