Hooked me from the first scene. What terrific punching.

The opening sets up the boxer angle well and it runs as an undercurrent throughout the film. It hinges largely on Payne's emotional ebbs and flows and he's certainly up to the task, running hot and cold throughout, with outbursts, introspection and a constant glint in his eye that tells you no matter where the film is at any given moment he's going to carry it through to the end. That reliance on emotion means that the powerful scenes don't fit together that well, but it's worth the tradeoff.

This is one of my favorite low-budget 50's crime movies. Often listed as a "film noir" entry, this enjoyable crime/suspense movie isn't quite bleak enough to qualify by my definition. It is, however, very dark in places, which makes the overall story all the more satisfying. Good dialogue, clever plot, fine performances, unusual situations, exciting climax...all fit together very nicely indeed!

Phil Karlson again directs John Payne as a regular Joe getting framed, with a lot of punching along the way. I'm not quite sure how I feel about Evelyn Keyes. Sometimes she pulls off some good work, but there were also moments where she didn't seem that hot. Speaking of "hot", the movie gets pretty damn sexy. Nothing like you'd see today, of course, but quite suggestive for 1953. A really solid film that rolls along beautifully.