Probably my favorite types of noir films are the ones where the protagonist is essentially innocent of any wrongdoing but is still being suspected and pursued by cops the entire time. This little known movie from the 40s has quite an interesting storyline, is not overly long and actually contains a twist at the end I didn't expect. The film is centered on Sam Wilson (Jeffrey Lynn), a bookkeeper at a company who barely makes enough money to scrape through life with his wife Georgia and two children. He decides to put his foot down and ask his boss, Mr. Jarvis (Richard Gaines) for a promotion. However, Jarvis gives him the complete opposite and tells him he is going to fire him. He has no choice, as the firm hasn't been doing so great recently and is borderline out of money. Later on, Sam is approached by Jarvis, the latter telling him he plans to do the unthinkable in order to give his family the money they need: he's going to kill himself. However, his life insurance policy won't bequeath his money to his wife and son if he commits suicide, so he is asking Sam to make the event look like murder. He gives sam 10 thousand bucks, then tells him to take a gun from a safe and shoot into his library with it, then to toss it in the ocean. Sam tries to dissuade him that night, but by the time he drives to Jarvis' place, his brains are already all over the floor. Sam stands outside, shoots the gun into the window twice, and then drives away to dispose of the pistol. Shortly after, news of the head of this big company being shot dead appears in the papers. Georgia and Sam visit Jarvis' widow Edna and son Sydney to see what they can do to help. They find an investigation is already underway, being led by a crippled police lieutenant named Richard Webb (Harry Morgan). Webb and his sergeant question Sam about where he was at the time his boss died, and says he knows nothing about the case other than the fact Jarvis' business partner Mr. Hearne didn't like him all that much. When Sam is questioned about the gunshots that killed Jarvis, he instinctively looks at the wall past Jarvis' desk where they impacted, which Webb notices. The latter asks Sam how he knew where the bullets landed, and Sam says the news this morning mentioned it. Not really being satisfied, Webb lets Sam go home but orders his sergeant to send a cop to track him. Meanwhile, Sam tries to convince his wife that there is no possible way Hearne killed Jarvis, and he just so happens to know that. His attitude towards this makes her think he is hiding something. Webb also shows up at the company, takes everyone's fingerprints, and interrogates more employees. He questions Sam again, and also Hearne and Jarvis' secretary. Webb is getting frustrated by not progressing with this case, until the secretary reveals something he wasn't aware of; Jarvis fired Sam the day he was killed. Hearne is later caught lying by Webb when he admits he came to Jarvis' house and had an argument with him that night, when he previously said he didn't go there. Sam is convinced Hearne will be arrested and executed unless he tells the cops the truth. Sam tells his wife what really happened to Jarvis, his whole role in the ordeal, and then drives to Jarvis' house to tell the same to Edna. Sam tells Edna her husband killed himself and was not murdered, which means his life insurance policy is voided. Sam gives her the 10 grand Jarvis gave to him as consolation. Edna calls Sam a coward and reveals she is the one who actually killed her husband because she wanted his life insurance. Right before he died, Jarvis was talking with Sam on the phone and telling him to show up to the house. Concurrently (unbeknownst to Sam), Edna was on the other side of the door listening in. Jarvis was too afraid to shoot himself, so Edna did it for him. Now, she wants to kill Sam for voiding the policy, and will then go to the cops and say he was the one who killed Jarvis and then himself, which will still allow her to claim the money. Sam reacts by turning his back to Edna, responding that it's impossible for him to have shot himself in the back. Edna tries to force him to turn around so she can shoot, but Webb shows up just in time and knocks off her aim with his cane. Sam is still shot in the forearm, but Edna is found to be the true killer and taken away. I was surprised at how good this movie is. It's not amazing, but it doesn't feel like it drags on to a ridiculous degree like many other films do. Things progress fast, and the ending wasn't something I saw coming. It can't be a coincidence that Harry Morgan is playing a character named Webb, when he would go on to play the sidekick of Jack Webb on Dragnet. Here, he is kind of irritating, but that's what an effective detective is supposed to be. He stops at nothing to hunt down whoever is responsible for killing Jarvis, and he comes close to arresting Sam at many points. This made it totally unexpected when he is able to save him at the end and catch the real culprit. Overall, Strange Bargain was a pleasant surprise as I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but what I got really can be called noir.