A terrific debut film for both Van Heflin and for Fred Zinnemann in the director's chair. Heflin is a police criminologist on the trail of the local mayor's killer. The trail leads him to lawyer Litel. The acting is terrific and Zinnemann's direction is taut and suspenseful. After directing
many of the "Crime Does Not Pay" short features (including the Oscar-winning THAT MOTHERS MIGHT LIVE), the studio felt Zinnemann was ready for more substantial work. Here he used the documentary techniques learned creating the shorts and the results are terrific. Producer Chertok also worked on
the "Crime" series.
Released:
1942
Rated:
NR
Length:
74 mins