Dangereuse enquête

A bank teller comes up $50,000 short and an investigator is determined to nail him for theft. The film is something of a mixed bag. The cinematography is pedestrian, the narration is hokey, and the ending is too neat to be satisfying. However, a story about someone being wrongfully accused always makes my blood boil in a way that holds my attention. Barry Sullivan is great as usual, but more interesting is Charles McGraw. McGraw usually plays a righteous character, but here he's such a relentless, contemptible bastard that you can't wait to see him get what's coming to him. The film could have paid off a little better in this respect, but it's an engaging performance. Dorothy Malone is unfortunately saddled with a dull good girl role that doesn't exploit her talents, but there is a small but delightful femme fatale part for Mary Beth Hughes. Ultimately the positives outweigh the negatives and it's a fun watch.