Absorbing screenplay,strong directing,superb performances,everything is perfect in this Otto Preminger movie.
Dana Andrews gives one of his greatest performances.Unlike "Laura",the interest focuses on him here.At first sight ,he seems a tough cop,brutal,ruthless and disagreeable.Little by little,we learn to understand him:his past is revealed only in the last part.His stature is constantly growing .In the extraordinary letter scene (with a moving voice over),we finally side with him .Unlike the Lang hero (see Andrews's part in "beyond a reasonable doubt" 1956) ,the Preminger character can redeem himself even if the price to pay is high :here Dixon is ready to sacrifice his life partly because of his love for Tierney,but also because his heredity made him a pariah,an outcast,"half-cop,half-criminal" as a hoodlum justly says.
Suspense is constant and exciting.When the old lady realizes that it cannot be Paine because he didn't wave his hand,it packs a real wallop! The relationship Andrews/Tierney is more endearing than in "Laura" because they both experiment tragedy here (Tierney's father jailed for something he's never done).Preminger succeeds in turning an uncertain conclusion into a true happy end ,which is quite a feat.
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