Review of Shockproof

There are some great lines in the picture but as the story evolves, it makes less and less sense. I guess it's not out of the question that a parole officer could fall for one of his clients, but where the idea falls short is when he abandons his job and scurries cross country with the fatal dame, living on pick up jobs and boosting sandwiches. Stealing a car and heading for Mexico garner bonus points for this couple (Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight) on the run, but when they're let off the hook by the poor sap and former boyfriend Jenny Marsh (Knight) thought she killed by accident, well that just tore it for me. Earlier in the movie when Jenny tells Griff Marat (Wilde), "Maybe I'm no good, but I do love you", I thought the remark captured what every great noir film aspires to, the flawed femme fatale juggling her affections between the men who covet her. However it's all undone when Marsh's former flame reacts from his hospital bed declaring "I'm enough of a gambler to know when I've lost". At that point, the viewer knows it too.