Edmond O'Brien of later "D. O. A." fame plays Bob Regan, an aggressive, passionate attorney who impresses insanely wealthy industrialist Andrew Colby (Vincent Price) to the point that Colby hires Regan as a bodyguard! Soon, Regan has shot dead a man from Colby's past, a man who just got out of prison after five years. Regan is at least smart enough to start thinking that he's been played for a sap, and works to clear himself of a murder charge.
While this story here is not a great one (it's easy to figure out, and for the most part, played out the way I would have expected it to), it's still lots of fun: snappy, witty, suspenseful, with some good lines and a very strong cast. The stunning Ella Raines plays Colby's loyal secretary, John Abbott his equally loyal associate, O'Brien shines in one of his best early roles, Price is fantastic as the slimy Colby, and William Bendix pretty much steals the film from everybody as a cranky detective lieutenant. Despite his seeming to have tunnel vision in his single-minded pursuit of Regan, he's no dummy, either.
Top-notch banter, assured direction by Michael Gordon ("Pillow Talk"), plenty of eye candy in the form of Raines (who reminds me of Lauren Bacall here), and a decent pace add up to a good time. Especially riveting was the finale: will the villain finally be dead to rights, or is Regan going to resign himself to his fate as he gets sent up the river?
Well worth watching.
Seven out of 10.
While this story here is not a great one (it's easy to figure out, and for the most part, played out the way I would have expected it to), it's still lots of fun: snappy, witty, suspenseful, with some good lines and a very strong cast. The stunning Ella Raines plays Colby's loyal secretary, John Abbott his equally loyal associate, O'Brien shines in one of his best early roles, Price is fantastic as the slimy Colby, and William Bendix pretty much steals the film from everybody as a cranky detective lieutenant. Despite his seeming to have tunnel vision in his single-minded pursuit of Regan, he's no dummy, either.
Top-notch banter, assured direction by Michael Gordon ("Pillow Talk"), plenty of eye candy in the form of Raines (who reminds me of Lauren Bacall here), and a decent pace add up to a good time. Especially riveting was the finale: will the villain finally be dead to rights, or is Regan going to resign himself to his fate as he gets sent up the river?
Well worth watching.
Seven out of 10.