Half great noir, half bad noir. There are some awesome moments, including three over-the-top death scenes. But a lot of the other scenes are drab, routine and sometimes poorly shot. Our bad guys (Raymond Burr and Harry Morgan) are terrific and menacing, but Virginia Mayo is a dud and George Raft is not at his best. Some of the dialogue is snappy, but then some lines are a swing and a miss. Worst of all is the ham-fisted religious message. It's not a total loss, but I would hardly recommend it.