Director: Otto Preminger
Country: United States
Mark Dixon is a tough cop who is labaled for skulduggery and who hates thugs because his father was one of them, but despite of being on the right side of the law he finds himself in a tricky situation and decides to solve it in a dirty way.
This Preminger film is based upon the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart, and is a unique noir masterpiece, a great story in its three acts that holds you from the beginning, keeps the intensity and the mistery and most importantly it breaks many clichés.
With solid performances especially those by the legendary Karl Malden (On The Waterfront, How The West Was Won, etc) as Lt. Thomas a skillful cop, and Dana Andrews as Dixon, a solid supporting role by the beautiful Gene Tierney as Morgan, and a gorgeous cinematography work by Joseph LaShelle which is not necessarily bleak as in many other noir films but it's superb, he made amazing exterior shots although very few (considering the low-budget) of New York City, we can feel the streets, we can see the lights and the vibrant and glamorous life in the city at the time (and even the EL in some scenes).
In conclusion, this is a simple film masterfully written and directed, film noir at its finest, so don't waste more time and watch it right now.
