The start of Film Noir, you can see they were not really sure what they were doing with this new style of movie. For all its faults its a wonderful movie for any noir fan.105 minutes- U.S.A., (1946) (CC), BW.
From the outset we know Raven (Ladd) is bad. He's so bad that he could easily kill the pictures female lead character and for once you actually believe that the writer actually will do it. Film Noir is not your cosy happy ending type movie or even a "get the girl kill the baddies" type, it's the birth of the anti-hero. The lead character you want to see make it even if he or she is basically evil. With the odds stacked against him and being played as a pawn in a dangerous game. Raven is a killer for hire.
This was Lake and Ladd's finest moment together and Noirs finest hour. The movie pulls no punches, twists & turns and delivers in a real life manner that Hollywood shied away from till then and has come full circle to again now. I felt that Lake's part in the movie was somewhat tacked on in that anyone could have played the role and she didn't have enough to do, but what she did was good. Ladd comes off best and you can see why he was given the part. Lake and Ladd click in this movie and their similarly short height meant that they were a perfect screen match.
The scene with the cat is very powerful and copied several times in later years. If you like your movies black - watch this and you will realise why it has been remade and copied so often.
Author: Mark R Nash (Wales, UK)