A forgotten gem from the sadly abbreviated career (alcohol, early death) of British director Robert Hamer. Known for the classic black comedy KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS/’49, Hamer was equally at home in kitchen-sink drama (IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY/’47) and spooky morbidity (DEAD OF NIGHT/45).* Here, he takes on film noir, or rather Brit noir, to superb effect with big assists from Harry Waxman’s glistening high contrast lensing & from some kind of genius location scout. Marshy fields and barges on river-front sites really make this one. John Mills, in near unrecognizable tough-guy form, is fresh out of prison after 12 years on a murder frame-up, and looking to punish the three lying witnesses who put him there; even with cops on his tail, assigned to stop him. Some of the plotting strains credulity (one of the lying witnesses now wife of the detective running the case). But this is noir territory, where even in a city of millions, only eight people matter, and you’re sure to bump into no one but those eight. Time is somehow made for a tricky/touching romance to break thru, while plotting in the last act is exceptional, with a truly shocking ‘reveal’ and a perfect wrap to deliver some long delayed justice. More, please.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Assuming you’ve seen KIND HEARTS, try IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY (mentioned above) with the great Googie Withers, married 62 years to this film’s detective, John McCallum. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/01/it-always-rans-on-sundey-1947.html
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