The police have no qualms about knocking on someone's door just before dawn cracks in this post-war film noir which uses temporary amnesia to make a sailor (Bill Williams) wonder if he killed a nasty blackmailer (Lola Lane, far from the nice swinging on gates gal of "Four Daughters"). An exhausted taxi dancer (Susan Hayward) is perky enough after fighting off a masher to invite Williams over for corned beef, and gets more than he bargained for.
It turns out that the victim was nastier than Williams thought, and with the help of a cab driver (Paul Lukas), the trio begins their own investigation, which must turn up a killer by 6 AM when Williams is scheduled to catch a bus back to his base. This fast-moving entry in the new genre of darkly lit crime dramas popular after 1944 features interesting characters, a gritty use of New York City nightlife and sleaze, but some of the details just don't seem right. Yet, there are various comments about late life in New York that seem to ring true today. All of the actors are fine, both sleazy and decent, and the film is overall a lot of fun to watch. Certain aspects of the screenplay seem far-fetched, and the conclusion also seems a bit forced, as well as predictable.
It turns out that the victim was nastier than Williams thought, and with the help of a cab driver (Paul Lukas), the trio begins their own investigation, which must turn up a killer by 6 AM when Williams is scheduled to catch a bus back to his base. This fast-moving entry in the new genre of darkly lit crime dramas popular after 1944 features interesting characters, a gritty use of New York City nightlife and sleaze, but some of the details just don't seem right. Yet, there are various comments about late life in New York that seem to ring true today. All of the actors are fine, both sleazy and decent, and the film is overall a lot of fun to watch. Certain aspects of the screenplay seem far-fetched, and the conclusion also seems a bit forced, as well as predictable.