Fritz Lang's sizzling 1953 film noir masterpiece features Glenn Ford (in his best performance—perhaps his only performance) as an anguished cop out to smash a maddeningly effete mobster (Alexander Scourby) and break the hold he has on a corrupt city administration. With sensational support from Lee Marvin as a sadistic hood and Gloria Grahame as Marvin's bad/good girlfriend, whose reward for hanging around is a faceful of scalding coffee. Brutal, atmospheric, and exciting—highly recommended.
By
Don Druker