This is basically an inferior rehash of THE KILLERS (1946) by the same director and star, but a solid enough noir entry on its own; it was remade, much later, by Steven Soderbergh as THE UNDERNEATH (1995).
Burt Lancaster has the same role of the 'chump', Stephen McNally is the cop too eager to look out for him, Dan Duryea is remarkable standing in for Albert Dekker as the jealous crime boss, but Yvonne De Carlo isn't fatale enough she merely comes across as someone who can't make up her own mind whether it's love she wants or money! Tony Curtis made his film debut here as De Carlo's dance partner in a club sequence; he would eventually co-star with Lancaster in the circus drama TRAPEZE (1956) and, most impressively, a superior noir-ish effort the cynical masterpiece SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957).
Miklos Rozsa's score here is quite similar to that of BRUTE FORCE (1947), another noir featuring Lancaster but, then, this particular composer's work always seemed to provide variations on the same theme (of course, depending on the genre). The highlight of the film, as was the case with THE KILLERS, is undeniably the elaborate heist sequence; the aprupt downbeat ending, then, is typical of the more doom-laden examples of the noir style.
Burt Lancaster has the same role of the 'chump', Stephen McNally is the cop too eager to look out for him, Dan Duryea is remarkable standing in for Albert Dekker as the jealous crime boss, but Yvonne De Carlo isn't fatale enough she merely comes across as someone who can't make up her own mind whether it's love she wants or money! Tony Curtis made his film debut here as De Carlo's dance partner in a club sequence; he would eventually co-star with Lancaster in the circus drama TRAPEZE (1956) and, most impressively, a superior noir-ish effort the cynical masterpiece SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957).
Miklos Rozsa's score here is quite similar to that of BRUTE FORCE (1947), another noir featuring Lancaster but, then, this particular composer's work always seemed to provide variations on the same theme (of course, depending on the genre). The highlight of the film, as was the case with THE KILLERS, is undeniably the elaborate heist sequence; the aprupt downbeat ending, then, is typical of the more doom-laden examples of the noir style.