Middling murder mystery noir. It's a Chandler script, so you can expect the plot to be convoluted and confusing. The real problem is the lackluster direction. Marshall has no flair for this kind of thing, and the film largely fails to create any kind of atmosphere. However, there's some nice dialogue moments and it's an interesting take on returning veterans. Good performances but Veronica Lake is, as usual, a pretty face but a bland actress. Overall it's worth watching, but hardly a standout.

Worth watching for two interesting characters: Doris Dowling's sexually agressive party-girl and William Bendix's portrayal of a traumatised war veteran prone to bouts of rage and amnesia. The rest is so-so. The plot suffers from a few too many coincidences and contrivances, not helped by the fact that Chandler was forced to accept a studio rewrite of the ending. The direction is truly uninspired; staid and workmanlike, not helped by the lack of musical score.

It takes about 15 minutes before it finds its noir groove, but once it does it's an excellent ride. Veronica Lake's role isn't very big but she steals every scene she's in and the wonderful characterizations take care of the rest. There are a few holes in the narrative, but on the whole it flows nicely with some good turns and the dialogue gives a bunch of strong moments.

nothing to complain about, but nothing special either. this movie defines the word "OK"

I like film noir. This one is good, but not one of the best.

An okay film noir, has some funny parts but on the whole it's pretty underwhelming.

Atmospheric crime drams with second-rate direction but a good script by Raymond Chandler.

My favourite pairing of blonde bombshell Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. A moody film noir in 1940s' Malibu. If you like "The Big Sleep" you'll like this.