The husband of Patricia Owens is shot at point blank range in their home by Dan Duryea, in front of her. Duryea then acts as if Owens ordered the hit, and asks for her the rest of his money. Owens has no idea what he's going on about, but before things escalate any further, the dead husband's business partner Richard Leech intervenes, and Duryea makes a run for it. When he calls her, insisting she needs to pay for the job she paid him to do, Leech and her get the police to set a trap. During the pay-off, Duryea is easily apprehended. He decides to defend himself during the trial, and insists that if he's guilty, so is Owens for hiring him to kill her husband. But nobody believes him, especially not after it is revealed he spent some time in a mental institution...
The plot summary on IMDb's page this movie gives away everything that isn't fully revealed in the movie until the final 10 minutes. I've tried to avoid this trap, even tho I admit it's rather difficult, and part of it should be clear from the start, but hey... In any case, it's a pretty routine crime thriller that benefits from good performances from the always reliable Dan Duryea ('The Big Clock', 'Scarlet Street') and Patricia Owens ('Mystery Junction'). The movie is based on a story by Mann Rubin which had already been used as the basis for an episode on the 50s TV show 'Climax!', with Neville Brand as the killer! I would love to see that episode.
Director Frank Nesbitt and DoP Basil Emmott film things in an unimaginative way and there is a lack of tension, which is unfortunate. A few of the movie's set-up's seemed like nice fits for some good visuals and strong set pieces, but they just never happen unfortunately. In any case, it's a decent movie with some good performances, but it had potential for more. 6/10
The plot summary on IMDb's page this movie gives away everything that isn't fully revealed in the movie until the final 10 minutes. I've tried to avoid this trap, even tho I admit it's rather difficult, and part of it should be clear from the start, but hey... In any case, it's a pretty routine crime thriller that benefits from good performances from the always reliable Dan Duryea ('The Big Clock', 'Scarlet Street') and Patricia Owens ('Mystery Junction'). The movie is based on a story by Mann Rubin which had already been used as the basis for an episode on the 50s TV show 'Climax!', with Neville Brand as the killer! I would love to see that episode.
Director Frank Nesbitt and DoP Basil Emmott film things in an unimaginative way and there is a lack of tension, which is unfortunate. A few of the movie's set-up's seemed like nice fits for some good visuals and strong set pieces, but they just never happen unfortunately. In any case, it's a decent movie with some good performances, but it had potential for more. 6/10