Flick #08 of CINEMONSTER's First MannVanuary.

My List of Films that I'll be watching (or have watched) plus links to those Reviews can be found here:
Slappy McGee's 1st MannVanuary 2022.

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A unique film noir as the true story/plot of the film takes place OUTSIDE the city and being trapped inside the city is a tent pole characteristic of noir. Plus, we don't actually leave the city until about halfway through the film, so the "real" movie starts at about the midpoint of the running time.

The first half of the film is merely backstory. An interesting choice really. But it really hammers home the fact that the CITY itself is one of the main antagonistic forces bearing down on our protagonist - an abusive cop that is played convincingly by Robert Ryan. And it is only when he gets outside of the City that true redemption for him can be sought after and hoped to be attained.

Ida Lupino who co-stars here as the symbolic "Angel of Mercy" - a blind woman who holds the key to our protagonist's redemption - also assisted Nicholas Ray in directing this film (although she was uncredited for her efforts, which was probably a product of the way things were at the time). But you can definitely see her input in the second half of the picture. As a matter of fact, if you were to tell me that the first half of the picture was completely directed by Ray and the second half was completely directed by Lupino, it would make total sense. The two halves of the film are two completely different styles altogether.

That being said, the one connecting force is the magnificent Bernard Hermann score. He really ties it together and drives the film to its most climatic moment. Without his score, the ending would be so very weak and lack all the delightful tension that was so enjoyable in its finale.

Some people might categorize this as a "lesser" noir - and in many ways I can understand that argument... BUT... I do think that this film is working on a bigger thematic level than a lot of film noirs and it is kind of universally underrated.

(Plus... the young man we meet towards the end of the film encapsulates the title of the film and gives it a different meaning altogether. This gave me a moment of "Ohhhhhh, no they didn't." Watch it and see if you agree.)