A badly injured fugitive explains to a priest how he came to be in his present predicament.
Direction
Sturges builds dread through flashback structure before his Magnificent Seven era.
Acting
Lew Ayres' wounded vulnerability makes you root for a probable killer.
Cinematography
Mexico-shot locations give cheap studio production unexpected visual poetry.
Director
John Sturges
Lew Ayres
Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown
Teresa Wright
Ellen Tevlin Vanner
Victor Jory
Father Gomez
Jacqueline White
Luana Ware
Jimmy Hunt
Mike Tevlin, Ellen's Son
Barry Kelley
Earl C. Mahoney, Finance Co. V.P.
Duncan Renaldo
Carlos
William Bakewell
Herb Tolin, Bolsa Grande Oil
Milton Parsons
Thin Man Visiting Mahoney
Vito Scotti
Truck Driver (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson
Employee (uncredited)
Rico Alaniz
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lew Ayres was a conscientious objector who served as a medic in WWII, making his portrayal of a man haunted by violence particularly layered.
RKO heavily re-edited and shortened this after poor previews; Sturges disowned the final cut, making existing prints a compromised survival.
US
