Joe Sullivan is itching to get out of prison. He's taken the rap for his accomplice Rick, a sadistic mobster who owes him $50,000 from the job they pulled. Rick sets up an escape for Joe, assuming that Joe will be killed while fleeing. But with the help of his love-struck girl Pat and his sympathetic legal caseworker Ann, Joe gets further than Rick intended...
Cinematography
John Alton's lighting: characters drowning in their own shadows.
Acting
Claire Trevor's final scene—devastating silent close-up, no dialogue needed.
Direction
Mann squeezes more tension into 79 minutes than most manage in 140.
Director
Anthony Mann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Anthony Mann and John Alton made six noirs together; this was their leanest, shot in under three weeks.
The 'two women' poster bait actually understates it—Pat and Ann's parallel obsessions with Joe form the film's real triangle, not the crime plot.
US
