Perception vs. reality in a tale of a scoundrel and user whose jovial manner masks his true nature until a climatic redemption.
Acting
Sonny Tufts walks the tightrope between magnetic and repulsive.
Writing
Sharp dialogue that makes you complicit in his con.
Director
Frank Tuttle
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released in 1946, this noir-adjacent drama captures post-war anxiety about returning soldiers and hidden trauma beneath cheerful surfaces.
Frank Tuttle directed this after being blacklisted; his career survived better than many, but the film's cynicism about American masculinity feels personally informed.
US
