Monday the 9th of April 2012
Soldier Mitchum helps pipe smoking detective Young investigate a murder that points to bigot Ryan. Dymtryk's film-noir lighting and Ryan's chilling performance elevate an otherwise mediocre melodrama that's guilty of it's own prejudices, as the book was about homophobia, which was deemed too taboo for 1947 audiences and thus changed to anti-Semitism. A cop-out that only serves to date the film, as a homophobia motive could sadly serve as the basis of a film made today.
seen via TCM HD