There's always something standing in the way of honesty, and for Dennis O'Keefe, it's right in his back yard in the form of Pat O'Brien, the old family friend who becomes his greatest enemy. O'Brien wants to take back the presidency of the automobile union, vowing to eventually take over every union in every industry in every city. Nothing will stand in his way, and his naive family (including daughter Margaret Field, O'Keefe's ex- girlfriend) believes him to be framed. But son Mark Damon begins to suspect the truth, increasing violence and the animosity between the two Mr. O's.
A family can fall like a house of cards, and in the case of this crime drama with noir aspects, it's fascinating to watch build and mesmerizing to watch fall. Tina Carver us very good as "the bad girl" who becomes involved with both O'Brien and Damon, a true 12:00 girl in a 9:00 town who would visit a 12:00 town and want to be up until 3. As gritty as many of the great crime dramas of the golden age, it uses the camera in very creative ways, allowing it to follow certain characters around in ways to where you realize how tight the rope it is around them. In fact, if I had to say who the real star of this film is, I would single it down to the cameraman.
Margaret Field, who is the mother of a certain two time Oscar winning actress named Sally is excellent. She acts with her eyes most convincingly as she tries to deny to herself the truth about O'Brien. If there is one minor flaw, it's the little detail of O'Keefe being young enough to be O'Brien's son. Otherwise, he's excellent, and O'Brien subtle in his ruthlessness, making me glad that they cast him, not Broderick Crawford. For a low budget production produced by Sam Katz man, I would have to describe this one as top notch.
A family can fall like a house of cards, and in the case of this crime drama with noir aspects, it's fascinating to watch build and mesmerizing to watch fall. Tina Carver us very good as "the bad girl" who becomes involved with both O'Brien and Damon, a true 12:00 girl in a 9:00 town who would visit a 12:00 town and want to be up until 3. As gritty as many of the great crime dramas of the golden age, it uses the camera in very creative ways, allowing it to follow certain characters around in ways to where you realize how tight the rope it is around them. In fact, if I had to say who the real star of this film is, I would single it down to the cameraman.
Margaret Field, who is the mother of a certain two time Oscar winning actress named Sally is excellent. She acts with her eyes most convincingly as she tries to deny to herself the truth about O'Brien. If there is one minor flaw, it's the little detail of O'Keefe being young enough to be O'Brien's son. Otherwise, he's excellent, and O'Brien subtle in his ruthlessness, making me glad that they cast him, not Broderick Crawford. For a low budget production produced by Sam Katz man, I would have to describe this one as top notch.