Review by wrbtu

This is a very underrated B film noir, with Lawrence Tierney at his toughest. If you liked Tierney in Born to Kill, you'll like him here as well. The plot is a common one, but rarely will you see such a vicious character in a 1951 film. There's even a real "dirty word" used in this film (by 1950s standards): "pregnant"! Tierney's performance is not to be missed. He plays a character here with no redeeming qualities (unless you call using his mother a "redeeming" quality), & no remorse. The details of his character's development are fairly well explained; enough of his background is given to understand why he turned out the way he did. For film noir fans, you'll like the darkness of the film, shadows abound, & there's a short narration at the beginning. Lisa Golm (who plays Tierney's mother) also gives an outstanding performance (a little too dramatic at times, but I know quite a few people who act like that in real life); the fact that she strongly reminds me of my grandmother (& was coincidentally born only 9 days after my grandmother) helped me to enjoy this film even more. The most thought provoking aspect of the film is the question of how two brothers who were raised together could grow up to be so different. Tierney's real life brother plays his brother in this film (but he's probably the weakest actor here). I rate it 9/10, but subtract a point if Lisa Golm doesn't remind you of your grandmother!