The NYC police commissioner has given two policemen two days to bring in a fugitive. The cast is excellent: Fonda as the by-the-book commissioner, Widmark and Guardino as the not-by-the-book detectives, Stevens as Widmark's lovely and neglected wife, and Whitmore as Fonda's assistant and long-time friend. Siegel creates a gritty atmosphere in this companion piece to "Dirty Harry," with Widmark's title character having a lot in common with Clint Eastwood's maverick cop. However, while the film is well made, it is nothing more than a routine police drama. Widmark parlayed this role into a short-lived TV series of the same name a few years later.
