This film was not very well liked in its time; I remember reading an old movie magazine that had a short review on it, and the critic was not impressed at all. So when I finally caught up with it, I was pleasantly surprised.
As another review stated, the Gorio character is a real psycho with some mental problem (I'm not a doctor, so I have no name for his illness). To my knowledge it is not until "White Heat" that the movies saw someone as mentally ill as this guy. Cortez can really chew the scenery during his scenes, and they are entirely convincing.
Rather than rehash the plot, it is true that the acting is a little creaky at times, particularly during the last reel of the film, lessening its effect a bit. In the main however, this is a rare instance of a studio other than Warner Bros. producing a potent, powerful gangster movie. This was once available on laser disc; hopefully it will soon be available through Warner Archive.
As another review stated, the Gorio character is a real psycho with some mental problem (I'm not a doctor, so I have no name for his illness). To my knowledge it is not until "White Heat" that the movies saw someone as mentally ill as this guy. Cortez can really chew the scenery during his scenes, and they are entirely convincing.
Rather than rehash the plot, it is true that the acting is a little creaky at times, particularly during the last reel of the film, lessening its effect a bit. In the main however, this is a rare instance of a studio other than Warner Bros. producing a potent, powerful gangster movie. This was once available on laser disc; hopefully it will soon be available through Warner Archive.