A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?
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CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
When a man is found savagely beaten to death, it falls to local police captain "Finlay" (Robert Young) to track down the perpetrators. His attention is soon drawn to a group of recently demobbed soldiers who had had drinks with the deceased and his girlfriend (Marlo Dwyer) earlier that evening. Meantime, conscious that his friends are in the police line of sight,"Kelley" (Robert Mitchum) also decides to do a bit of detective work - hoping to clear his colleagues, identify the killer and hopefully establish a motive too. It's a quickly paced, quite intricate thriller this. Both Young and Mitchum are effective, as are Robert Ryan's manipulative "Monty" and George Cooper's rather dubious looking "Mitch". There are plenty of undercurrents within the plot to keep it interesting - not least homosexuality and anti-Semitism, both hot topics for the "Code" at the time, and although it is maybe just a bit too wordy, it is still a remarkably potent mystery that rather courageously attempts to tackle taboos as well as the more routine human frailties. A classy contribution from a slightly underused Gloria Grahame and some gritty and dark photography help too. This is a good, tautly directed film that holds the interest well.
