A group of escaped convicts hide out in a wet cave waiting for the search for them to slow down. The ailing leader of the escape (William Bendix) is on the verge of death, and the poor doctor (Percy Helton) who is called to help them at gunpoint will find that he won't be allowed to tell what he knows. A few of the escapees seem to have a major love of carnage, and Bendix has a sadistic streak that won't even allow one of the younger members of the party (Marshall Thompson) go off with a young girl (Gloria Talbott) he meets on a train. When they hide out in the farmhouse of Beverly Michaels (a tough "B" girl giving her most versatile performance here), the compassion of one of them (the brilliant Arthur Kennedy) is revealed. Michaels plays a farm-bread girl who obviously tried the big city, became a victim to it, and returned home older, wiser, and sadder. Christopher Olsen is good as her illegitimate son who doesn't understand what's going on but shows deep courage anyway.
This is one of those enjoyable yet far-fetched stories of crime that wasn't quite film noir but played like it on the surface. The characters are fascinating, if somewhat one-dimensional to watch, and William Bendix chews up the scenery as if it was steak. Acting honors go to Kennedy who makes his criminal character quite likable in spite of his past. Luther Adler, William Talman and Gene Evans also deliver exciting performances. The film is fast-moving, tightly edited, and filled with some shocking moments, one of them involving a man on fire. The ending is filled with irony and makes up for the film's over-all clichés.
This is one of those enjoyable yet far-fetched stories of crime that wasn't quite film noir but played like it on the surface. The characters are fascinating, if somewhat one-dimensional to watch, and William Bendix chews up the scenery as if it was steak. Acting honors go to Kennedy who makes his criminal character quite likable in spite of his past. Luther Adler, William Talman and Gene Evans also deliver exciting performances. The film is fast-moving, tightly edited, and filled with some shocking moments, one of them involving a man on fire. The ending is filled with irony and makes up for the film's over-all clichés.