Very well done noir - and one of the few featuring Burt Lancaster. If you liked this one, you'll love "Sweet Smell of Success"

There's an unusual breadth to Siodmak's California noir, painting LA as a sundrenched land where every house holds a slew of unfulfilled dreams and every bar door hides a million disappointments. Lancaster's the perfect man to take us through it, his wounded eyes and chiselled jaw making him the paragon of blue-collar schmos, but the film itself takes him on a road that feels slightly manipulated, particularly the final scene - the endgame doesn't feel like it matches what came before.

Lancaster's performance is the only notable element to it. He almost makes a terribly passive and unsympathetic character "interesting."

Classic noir!

Pure, classic film noir. A fatalistic tone, evocative high-contrast photography, tight script, good use of locations, and a gal who you're not sure is good or bad. Burt Lancaster is wonderful, here playing an average joe as opposed to his usual role as the man in control. I don't really care much for Dan Duryea, though. I always imagine Richard Widmark doing a better job in his parts. But he's really the only weak part of this otherwise excellent example of the genre.

I know, I know, the banal fatalism of the payroll heist is old news. Still, this is the only Dan Duryea movie I've seen where he doesn't bitch-slap the femme fatale (here played by the future Lily Munster) (though she does have Duryea-inflicted contusions on her back). If I read this flick correctly, lust and jealousy are the two most powerful motivating forces in the world: I won't argue, even despite the pat tragic ending.

Really good noir with standout performances, camera angles and a great script. Recommended.

Lust! Fate! Longing! Money! Betrayal! Danger! Doom! What more can you possibly want in a noir? Watch also for some great shots that draw no attention to themselves, such as a classic of YdC at the window. You can see how a woman like that can ruin a good man. But she also ruins a bad man -- now that's a femme fatale!

Straightforward but very well executed noir. Even during the flashback part I was riveted.