This early film noir starts off intriguing, bogs down into the slow processing of information, and turns the tables in a surprising way. Back when he was a leading man and not a grumpy old one, Burgess Meredith was quite unique. Here, he is both a quiet accountant and a mystery man being sought for murder. It appears that he had amnesia once before, snapping into his alleged real identity when a construction site briefly knocks him unconscious. A forgotten wife and career interrupts his determination to find out if he's guilty of this murder or not. The sudden return to his old neighborhood reunites him with old girlfriend Claire Trevor and brings him to the scene of the murder where the only one willing to help is a bedridden mute old woman (Adeline De Witt Reynolds) who blinks in certain ways to answer his questions.
Intriguing but perplexing, this is unrelated to the 1930 Paramount drama with William Powell and Kay Francis. Meredith is of course excellent, and Trevor also very good, playing several sides to her mysterious femme fatale. Sheldon Leonard is the obsessive detective on Meredith's case, with Jerome Cowan and Frieda Inescort as De Witt's greedy son and daughter-in- law. This is the type of film to try to remain patient with because the denouncement is pretty surprising. While Manhattan seems to be the setting, obviously fictional cross streets off of the main drag adds to the conclusion. Technically superior as well, this starts off high, sags briefly, but concludes way up in outer space with twists that add a true wallop and leave you with a sense of pity for the guilty party.
Intriguing but perplexing, this is unrelated to the 1930 Paramount drama with William Powell and Kay Francis. Meredith is of course excellent, and Trevor also very good, playing several sides to her mysterious femme fatale. Sheldon Leonard is the obsessive detective on Meredith's case, with Jerome Cowan and Frieda Inescort as De Witt's greedy son and daughter-in- law. This is the type of film to try to remain patient with because the denouncement is pretty surprising. While Manhattan seems to be the setting, obviously fictional cross streets off of the main drag adds to the conclusion. Technically superior as well, this starts off high, sags briefly, but concludes way up in outer space with twists that add a true wallop and leave you with a sense of pity for the guilty party.