A brash young lawyer takes a short-term, high-paying job as bodyguard for a slick business exec being threatened by a former partner, and quickly realizes he may be in over his head.
Acting
Edmond O'Brien's sweaty desperation; Price's velvet menace.
Writing
Every line of dialogue snaps like a mousetrap.
Cinematography
Shadows so deep you could hide a body in them.
Director
Michael Gordon
Ella Raines
Noel Faraday
Edmond O'Brien
Bob Regan
William Bendix
Lt. Damico
Vincent Price
Andrew Colby
Maria Palmer
Martha Kroner
John Abbott
Charles Murdock
Fritz Leiber
Leopold Kroner
Howland Chamberlain
James Nolan (as Howard Chamberlin)
Tito Vuolo
Emilio Canepa
Wilton Graff
District Attorney
Robin Raymond
Newspaper Librarian
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Michael Gordon's second feature; he'd later direct Pillow Talk and become blacklisted during the Red Scare.
The 'framed protagonist' structure here directly influenced countless later noirs, including The Big Clock released the same year.
US
