This is John Garfield's last film, made by the star's own company, which means he bowed out with a dignified vehicle which finds him in his most congenial element. Unfortunately, he would die of a heart attack on the eve of his HUAC hearing the next year at the young age of 39; ironically, the premise of a hounded petty criminal (hiding out in an apartment block) actually seems to be a tragically prescient parable for his current personal plight! Anyway, here the star is ably supported by the likes of Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford and Norman Lloyd.
Though essentially routine (not to mention overly familiar), the film is undeniably well-made, reasonably slick for an independent production – though, of course, not quite in the same league as the star's earlier BODY AND SOUL (1947) and FORCE OF EVIL (1949) – and, at a mere 77 minutes, thankfully it does not overstay its welcome. Suspense is nicely sustained throughout (from the opening payroll robbery which snowballs into murder, to a scene where an argument escalates into hysteria and results in a hand injury to the heroine's mother, and the effective – if contrived – downbeat ending). A memorably hard-boiled moment constitutes perhaps the most hilarious order ever given at gunpoint – Garfield to Ford: "Carve the turkey!"
Among the notable credits are scriptwriters Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo (both boasting associations to my favorite auteur Luis Bunuel!), cinematographer James Wong Howe (making the most of the enclosed setting), production designer Harry Horner (ditto), editor Francis D. Lyon and dialogue director Arnold Laven – interestingly, the last 3 all eventually graduated to the director's chair (while both Trumbo and Howe would try their hand at it just once). Also worth mentioning is the fact that, apart from Garfield, director Berry and the afore-mentioned scriptwriters (with Guy Endore 'fronting' for Trumbo) were similarly targeted by the so-called "Red Scare".
Though essentially routine (not to mention overly familiar), the film is undeniably well-made, reasonably slick for an independent production – though, of course, not quite in the same league as the star's earlier BODY AND SOUL (1947) and FORCE OF EVIL (1949) – and, at a mere 77 minutes, thankfully it does not overstay its welcome. Suspense is nicely sustained throughout (from the opening payroll robbery which snowballs into murder, to a scene where an argument escalates into hysteria and results in a hand injury to the heroine's mother, and the effective – if contrived – downbeat ending). A memorably hard-boiled moment constitutes perhaps the most hilarious order ever given at gunpoint – Garfield to Ford: "Carve the turkey!"
Among the notable credits are scriptwriters Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo (both boasting associations to my favorite auteur Luis Bunuel!), cinematographer James Wong Howe (making the most of the enclosed setting), production designer Harry Horner (ditto), editor Francis D. Lyon and dialogue director Arnold Laven – interestingly, the last 3 all eventually graduated to the director's chair (while both Trumbo and Howe would try their hand at it just once). Also worth mentioning is the fact that, apart from Garfield, director Berry and the afore-mentioned scriptwriters (with Guy Endore 'fronting' for Trumbo) were similarly targeted by the so-called "Red Scare".