This movie turned out to be rather surprising, which was mostly due to the performance given by Humphrey Bogart. In this movie he plays a character like we have never seen him before doing so. Apparently the character in this movie also was the most close to Bogart real personality than other movie he has ever played throughout his career.
In this movie Bogey plays a more dark, mysterious and temperamental character, that is unpredictable and dangerous to his surroundings with his behavior. It's almost a character like a psychotic killer in a good thriller.
This movie can also perhaps foremost been seen as a thriller, though it also is often being listed as a film-noir. It does has some elements of it in it but foremost it's mostly just being a thriller/drama really. After all, film-noir had already been at its peak before the '50's and it already was a dying genre. Bogart however still managed though to pick out and play typical Bogart roles late in his career before his early death of cancer in 1957. In this movie he also plays a typical Bogart role, even though his character is something that he had never really played before in his career. Its over confident, always smoking, reckless, tough, laid back behavior still ensures that this is a real Bogey part you're watching here.
It's a story that progresses nicely throughout and builds up to a nice ending. The main character of the movie slowly changes in the movie, which causes the movie to be for most part an unpredictable one. It provides the movie with some great moments and a suspenseful feeling at times.
Director Nicholas Ray, who gained most fame for his work on "Rebel Without a Cause" was perhaps born 10 years too late. He would had made a great early and mid '40's movie director, he really had the right directing style and approach of the story and characters for this. At the time of this movie he was still married to the female lead of this movie Gloria Grahame but they already separated secretly during production. She would later marry Ray's son and therefore her ex-stepson. Only in Hollywood people.
A surprisingly great movie with a surprising Humphrey Bogart in it.
9/10
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