Directed by John Sturges
This alarming crime drama tells of an unlucky taxi dancer (Sterling) who leaves a bar one night, never to be seen again… until her remains are discovered, and an unfortunate young man is implicated in her death. Police Lieutenant Peter Moralas (Montalban) reconstructs the victim’s backstory and engages in eerie forensic research on the way to solving the crime. Elsa Lanchester plays the victim’s money-grubbing landlady, who knows much more than she tells—except to those she blackmails. The innocent are vindicated, but human nature comes in for a harsh judgment in this taut film noir.
MGM. Producer: Frank E. Taylor. Screenwriter: Richard Brooks. Cinematographer: John Alton. Editor: Ferris Webster. Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Elsa Lanchester, Marshall Thompson, Jan Sterling. 35mm, Black and White, 93 min.
