There can't have been many more explosive debuts than that made by Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo, the giggling psychopathic gangster, and his is a performance that still stands up well today. He together with some top-drawer cinematography - certainly lifts this classic noir out of the ordinary. Take Widmark out of the picture, though, and the implausibility of the plot and Nick Bianco's character arc are left too exposed to pass more than cursory inspection.
Victor Mature is overshadowed by Widmark despite giving one of the better performances of his career. He plays Bianco, a career criminal who must have the world's most demanding offspring because, according to the narration from the woman who becomes his wife (Coleen Gray), he only robs a jewellery store to pay for his kiddies Christmas presents. The heist goes wrong and Bianco takes the rap for his accomplices. While in prison nobody thinks to tell him that his first wife has stuck her head in a gas oven leaving their children effectively orphaned. Typical 40s plot developments mean the ex-con on parole gets his kids back with no questions asked about whether he is a suitable role model. Quickly wedding the willing Coleen, Bianco finds himself with a family to protect when the case against Widmark's Tommy Udo in which Bianco is a key witness, collapses.
At this point the film cranks up the tension and gives us a tense and gripping depiction of Bianco's increasing fear as he bundles his family off to the country and apprehensively awaits a visit from the vengeful Udo. The restaurant confrontation between them crackles with tension, and it's just a shame that the final act is so contrived and unbelievable.
Victor Mature is overshadowed by Widmark despite giving one of the better performances of his career. He plays Bianco, a career criminal who must have the world's most demanding offspring because, according to the narration from the woman who becomes his wife (Coleen Gray), he only robs a jewellery store to pay for his kiddies Christmas presents. The heist goes wrong and Bianco takes the rap for his accomplices. While in prison nobody thinks to tell him that his first wife has stuck her head in a gas oven leaving their children effectively orphaned. Typical 40s plot developments mean the ex-con on parole gets his kids back with no questions asked about whether he is a suitable role model. Quickly wedding the willing Coleen, Bianco finds himself with a family to protect when the case against Widmark's Tommy Udo in which Bianco is a key witness, collapses.
At this point the film cranks up the tension and gives us a tense and gripping depiction of Bianco's increasing fear as he bundles his family off to the country and apprehensively awaits a visit from the vengeful Udo. The restaurant confrontation between them crackles with tension, and it's just a shame that the final act is so contrived and unbelievable.