Counterfeit bills show up at Treasury that are old friends. Lloyd Bridges had been passing them, but he's been in prison for several years and never squealed on his partners. Treasury cuts a deal to have him "escape" and go after the counterfeiters, but he can't work with an agent breathing on his neck, so Bridges beats him unconscious and goes after the counterfeiters on his own, via a path that leads straight through old girlfriend Barbara Payton. But is he working or the Feds or for himself?
This dark and brutal movie is a partial remake of Anthony Man's T-MEN, but it veers hither and yon, at least in part because Bridges got sick halfway through production, and producer Bryan Foy had the screenwriters redo the final third so John Hoyt became the central character. It was all one to director Richard Fleischer, working here for the first of seven times with Earl Felton. Together they would produce several legendary movies, including THE NARROW MARGIN. This isn't in the same class. Even so, it's a fine little crime drama with a shocking finish.
This dark and brutal movie is a partial remake of Anthony Man's T-MEN, but it veers hither and yon, at least in part because Bridges got sick halfway through production, and producer Bryan Foy had the screenwriters redo the final third so John Hoyt became the central character. It was all one to director Richard Fleischer, working here for the first of seven times with Earl Felton. Together they would produce several legendary movies, including THE NARROW MARGIN. This isn't in the same class. Even so, it's a fine little crime drama with a shocking finish.