A generic plot and weak acting makes this in no way a classic or must watch film in the Film-Noir genre.In the end this was a decent film that was serviceably entertaining.

What an incredibly enjoyable film. It may not be groundbreaking or complex, but it hits every beat perfectly with great performances from the principles and superb photography. The interrogation that opens the film is about a third of the runtime with all the flashbacks but feels like five minutes. It all feels so effortless in the way it creates these very compelling characters and situation and just lets things develop with just enough doubt as to how things will resolve themselves.

Grable is good. Mature chews it a bit at first, but he gets better as the story progresses. Best of all is Laird Cregar as one of the film's two psychos; he and Mature truly have a hate/hate relationship (as memorably weird as Edmond O'Brien vs Neville Brand in DOA). Score by and large alternates between Gershwin (I think it was) and "Somewhere over the Rainbow"--which becomes rather annoying after a while. Maybe the best thing about this movie is the title--irrelevant though it is.

While I don't consider it one of the greats, it is well worth a look. Cregar, Mature and Grable are all terrific in it, and although the film could use a little zing, it has nice photographic stylization, particularly in the lighting. The soundtrack (frequently recurring cues from "Over the Rainbow" and "Street Scene") is definitely eccentric, but it works. The plot unfolds much more fluidly than in the remake, and the relationship between Mature and Grable develops naturally and feels genuine.