A former model, serving time in prison, becomes a key witness in a trial against a notorious gangster. She is put under protective watch by the District Attorney in a posh hotel, but the crime kingpin makes attempts to get to her.
Acting
Rogers' bitter, wounded vulnerability—her best dramatic work, full stop.
Direction
Karlson squeezes dread from every hotel corridor and ringing phone.
Writing
That bullet-through-chest exchange? Noir dialogue at its bone-dry peak.
Director
Phil Karlson
Ginger Rogers
Sherry Conley
Edward G. Robinson
Lloyd Hallett
Brian Keith
Vince Striker
Lucy Marlow
Prison Girl
Lorne Greene
Benjamin Costain
Katherine Anderson
Mrs. Willoughby
Allen Nourse
Marvin Rickles
Peter Leeds
Fred Packer
Doye O'Dell
Mississippi Mac
Eve McVeagh
Clara Moran
Helen Wallace
Warden (uncredited)
Frank Gerstle
Jim Hornsby (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Ginger Rogers' final film under her RKO contract; she specifically sought grittier roles to escape the 'girl next door' trap.
Lorne Greene's villainous turn here predates his iconic Bonanza patriarch role by nearly a decade—imagine Ben Cartwright ordering hits instead of moral lectures.
US
