... and I know "passable" and "thriller" seem like a contradiction in terms, but then so is this film in a way. That is mainly because Lawrence Tierney is playing against type and himself.
He does a pretty good job as police detective Mike Carter who is fired in the first few minutes of the film for fist to cuffs during an investigation and then fist to cuffs with his superior officer.
He then gets an offer from a rich family that owns a meatpacking plant. They practically beg him to be the bodyguard of the matron of the family. They throw large wads of cash at him, and also an apparent attempt is made on the woman's life while he is visiting the home. He accepts the offer against his better judgment. He should have listened to that better judgment.
Later he is investigating strange noises he hears on the estate when he is knocked unconscious and wakes up in his car with his ex-boss - the one he had a fight with - dead in the passenger seat. And the car is on the railroad tracks with a train headed for it. Carter jumps out, but now he realizes he has been set up for his boss' murder, figures it has to be related to the job that was practically thrown at him, and has to investigate and find the real killers without running into the police. Maybe his brother Scott Brady should have called Tierney and asked him how he got out of this mess when he winds up in a similar spot in "Undertow" the following year. But I digress.
Along for the ride is Priscilla Lane as his fiancee and a secretary at the precinct where Mike worked and the only person Mike can trust at this point. And I wonder why the police didn't figure that out and just follow her from the beginning, but then we'd have no movie.
It's not that Tierney is bad at this role, it is just after seeing him in Dillinger, The Devil Thumbs a Ride, Hoodlum, and Born To Kill, it is just hard to buy him as the wrongly accused honest cop who is a one woman man. As good as Priscilla Lane and Tierney are, I just don't feel any chemistry between their characters. Still worth a watch for the good fast paced script and for people who are curious about Lawrence Tierney playing a good guy.
He then gets an offer from a rich family that owns a meatpacking plant. They practically beg him to be the bodyguard of the matron of the family. They throw large wads of cash at him, and also an apparent attempt is made on the woman's life while he is visiting the home. He accepts the offer against his better judgment. He should have listened to that better judgment.
Later he is investigating strange noises he hears on the estate when he is knocked unconscious and wakes up in his car with his ex-boss - the one he had a fight with - dead in the passenger seat. And the car is on the railroad tracks with a train headed for it. Carter jumps out, but now he realizes he has been set up for his boss' murder, figures it has to be related to the job that was practically thrown at him, and has to investigate and find the real killers without running into the police. Maybe his brother Scott Brady should have called Tierney and asked him how he got out of this mess when he winds up in a similar spot in "Undertow" the following year. But I digress.
Along for the ride is Priscilla Lane as his fiancee and a secretary at the precinct where Mike worked and the only person Mike can trust at this point. And I wonder why the police didn't figure that out and just follow her from the beginning, but then we'd have no movie.
It's not that Tierney is bad at this role, it is just after seeing him in Dillinger, The Devil Thumbs a Ride, Hoodlum, and Born To Kill, it is just hard to buy him as the wrongly accused honest cop who is a one woman man. As good as Priscilla Lane and Tierney are, I just don't feel any chemistry between their characters. Still worth a watch for the good fast paced script and for people who are curious about Lawrence Tierney playing a good guy.