Straight from the Middle of the Zeitgeist that will become Known as Film-Noir.
This British Movie is Expressionistic with Dutch Angles and a Dark, Brutal, Violent Tone that Captures the Elements of the Burgeoning Genre quite Well.
William Hartnell Pulls-Off a Cagneyesque Performance of Snarling Bitterness and Biting Revenge.
Only Slightly Lightens-Up after He Meets and Falls for a Dance-Hall-Dame (Joyce Howard) in an Endearing Role and Adds a Little Heart to this Glum Tale.
The Tone is Unwavering and Presents one of the Best of the Brit-Noirs of the Period.
A Psychological Study in Criminality and an Antagonist that is Unsympathetic.
Herbert Lom Plays an Unambiguous Homosexual Crime Boss that has a Partner that is Flamboyant and Exuberantly Gay.
Never seen in 1940's American Movies to this Extreme.
Above Average All Around and is a Film-Noir Sleeper.
Note...USA Audiences will notice the casual use of terms "Hell" and "Damn" that were completely absent in American Films of the 1940's.