A crooked detective masterminds a robbery then fights to keep his money.
Edmond O'Brien
Det. Lt. Barney Nolan
Marla English
Patty Winters
John Agar
Det. Sgt. Mark Brewster
Emile Meyer
Capt. Gunnarson
Carolyn Jones
Beth, Girl at Bar
Claude Akins
Fat Michaels
Herbert Butterfield
Cabot, Reporter
Hugh Sanders
Packy Reed
William Schallert
Asst. Dist. Atty. Andy Tucker
Richard Deacon
The Professor
John Beradino
Gambler Being Booked
Robert Bray
Detective
Stafford Repp
Detective O'Dell
Vito Scotti
Joe the Bartender
William Boyett
Robert Bray
Richard H. Cutting
Lawrence Ryle
Laddie O'Neil
Mickey Golden
David Hughes
Frank Marlowe
Gregg Martell
Tom McKee
Grazia Narciso
Norman Ollestad
Jack Perry
John Phillips
Joe Ploski
Director
Howard W. Koch
Director
Edmond O'Brien
Adaptation, Screenplay
Richard Alan Simmons
Novel
William P. McGivern
Writer
John C. Higgins
November 30, 2024
7
We discover right from the outset that "Nolan" (Edmond O'Brien) is a dodgy cop, and that he has killed a bookie's runner so he can take the $25k he was carrying and use it to build a new life for him and his girlfriend 'Patty" (Marla English). Unfortunately for him, he was seen by a deaf mute and so has to think on his feet before his partner "Brewster" (John Agar) gets to the truth or before the mob, whose cash it was, decide to take their own form of retribution. He has a reputation as a bit of a shoot-first merchant so faces a considerable degree of internal suspicion and that doesn't help as his initially loyal colleague begins to smell a very big rat. Can he get away with it and make it to to his retirement bungalow? On that front, there's not so much jeopardy nor is the writing really up to much either. What does help this stand out, though, is the strong characterisation of the odious "Nolan". O'Brien almost sweats the role, effectively demonstrating his loathing of his fellow cops and of the arrogant mob as he treats them all with contempt and disdain. Even the usually underwhelming Agar is likewise quiet effective as this story quite cleverly marries the crooked cop with the crooked system and the crooked gangsters all in the hope that somebody, somewhere, might actually prove decent enough to avenge the slaughtered man. It's quite a potent little eighty minute thriller, and worth a watch.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00