Terrific low budget noir which weaves a fantastic story of increasing desperation, only slightly marred by an upbeat ending - when a downbeat one would have been brilliant - unarmed, he's shot by the police who don't realise he's dropped his weapon, learning as he dies that the man he 'murdered' isn't dead.
It starts out so innocently. Mickey Rooney picks up a girl in a cafe Jeanne Cagney and agrees to take her out on a date. Only problem - he doesn't have any money. Starting from there things get so much worse. You can tell this girl isn't good, particularly when they run into amusement arcade manager, a vile Peter Lorre, and you know something's gone on between them.
Robert Smith's original screenplay is as snaky as the best of them. Apart from the gal who's always loved him (Barbara Bates), everyone turns out to be worse than you thought they could be, from the mechanic's boss to a hugely horrible landlady. It's terrific.
Smith's 99 River Street (1953 Phil Karlson) looks like it might be worth watching. He also co-wrote the Joan Crawford vehicle Sudden Fear. Pichel also made They Won't Believe Me (1947), Tomorrow Is Forever (1945), The Pied Piper (1942, with Monty Woolley).
Photographed by Lionel Linden with a moody score from Louis Gruenberg. A United Artists release.
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