The first act of this movie is absolutely dynamite. It's pure noir, tense and dark. And the third act is a satisfying courtroom drama. But oh, that second act sucks. Donlevy discovers the joys of small town Americana, where everyone is friendly, goes to church, and is happy to serve in the volunteer fire department. It's a load of saccharine crap, and an incredibly annoying detour. The vastly underrated Helen Walker steals the show as the scheming femme fatale.

I rented this thinking it was going to be a seedy little film noir and instead I got a rather pedestrian drama, with Brian Donlevy attempting to get all sensistive as a rich husband who finds love in a small town after his wife has attempted to kill him. Charles Coburn sleepwalks through his role as the detective and the courtroom climax is ridiculous. I can't help but wonder what Nick Ray would have done with this same material.