Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

JohnHowardReid Copyright 1955 by Allied Artists Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 27 February 1955. U.K. release through Associated British-Pathé: 7 November 1955. Australian release through Paramount: 8 April 1960 (sic). 6,940 feet. 77 minutes. Cut to 70 minutes in Australia.SYNOPSIS: The body of a Mr. Deane is found with his head in a fireplace, his features burned beyond recognition. Police detectives Ray Patrick and Bert Rawley arrest a nightclub singer, Eden Lane, for the crime, and she is convicted. While Ray and a police matron travel with her to prison, Eden sees a man through the train window that she identifies as the Deane she was convicted of murdering. Ray believes her, and he and Eden leap from the train when it slows for a grade. They walk back to town and days pass while they search in vain. COMMENT: The script reads like a 25¢ novel and production values are modest - but I liked it. In the hands of director Ulmer and photographer Wellman, it is often visually quite striking. Good atmosphere is built up, despite the constant use of studio cut-ins before an obvious process screen. And in thus one, super sexy Barbara Payton gives a quite creditable account of herself. (I think we can congratulate Edgar G. Ulmer for that otherwise incredible miracle, although I will admit that some of my colleagues went overboard for Miss Payton herself and even decried the fact that she was not nominated for an Academy Award for a "brilliant performance that permits the suggestion of instability beneath the surface calm of the character's visage.")

st-shot Bargain basement filmmaker Edgar Ulmer offers up a fetish laden noir of probably a 10 day shooting schedule with reasonable facsimiles of moments from Laura, Shadow of a Doubt, Out of the Past and Chinatown to present the viewer with a rather breezy run through police corruption and procedural abuse. It's quite a bargain for the price.Straight arrow homicide detective Ray Patrick is on a winning streak and up for a promotion when his next case gets compromised by a dame he feels he railroaded and now wants to clear. But she wears him down with her plea of innocence and they illegally set off to find the guilty party his commanding officer in pursuit. In spite of the incredulous plot Ulmer once again, with little, works wonders with cast and crucial tight editing that offers momentary top tier suspense at fire sale prices. As no nonsense dick gone rogue Paul Langton is no Mitch or Dana Andrews in Laura but he expresses the same veneer and a nebulous incertitude that bedevils them; in this case by a blonde fatale, no Jane Greer but the tragic Barbara Payton, a walking noir reality as convincing innocent. There's also some solid small bits with Kate McKenna as witness Miss Sparrow stealing both her brief scenes.Ulmer for his part packs a tremendous amount of seedy backdrop to the story as Patrick steps on rights ( no one ever thinks to ask for a lawyer in the face of gross malfeasance) and goes through women's underwear draws with abandon in the pursuit of justice, making it clear he is not interested. Form wise Ulmer does not waste time and he offers up some fine montage, provocative inferences and enough subtle deceptions to make this a bit of an enjoyable overachiever.

dougdoepke The best thing about this jumbled programmer is the intimidating snowstorm Detective Patrick (Langton) has to slog through. I almost went to the closet for my parka. The movie's main draw now, I expect, is Hollywood bad girl Barbara Payton's final movie. Too bad she couldn't work up some emotion. Outside of her sweaters, it's hard to see how veteran cop Patrick could fall for her so quickly, and jeopardize his career, to boot. All in all, you may need a scorecard to track the convoluted plot—something about who's killed whom and whether the dead are really dead. It may also help to turn off your sense of disbelief when you turn on the movie. Anyhow, Patrick's got 77-minutes to figure it all out. Langton's fine in the lead role, while Tracey Roberts makes for an intriguing mystery woman. I wish Roberts had made more movies; she's definitely a distinctive presence.Five years earlier and I expect cult director Ulmer would have delivered an atmospheric noir. But not here. The lighting and photography are strictly pedestrian, and it's anybody's guess why. In my book, the results amount to forgettable 50's crime drama.There are a couple of noir earmarks-- a compromised fall guy, a half spider woman-- but crucially there's no noirish mood that might implicate the ambivalent nature of reality itself. Too bad the star-crossed Payton didn't go out on a stronger note. Still, she looks bored with the whole procedure, so maybe it's just as well.

bkoganbing Director Edgar Ulmer was a great hand at some great noir dramas on budgets as big as dental floss. But his task her with Murder Is My Beat was too much for him.Detective Paul Langton tracks down and brings in fugitive nightclub singer Barbara Payton wanted for murder of someone whose charred body is found in her fire place. After that Payton is tried and convicted, but says she saw the murdered man big as life outside on the train platform while Langton is taking her to prison. So what does this cop do? He chucks away his job and career because he has the hots for Payton. The last time anyone behaved so dumb in a noir film it was Robert Mitchum over Jane Greer in Out Of The Past. But that was light years a better film.Selena Royle is in this film and it's her farewell big screen appearance. She was having blacklist troubles and I will say that Murder Is My Beat was better than Robot Monster which she previously did after MGM dropped her. Robert Shayne took some time off from being Inspector Henderson on Superman to be Langton's captain and friend who tells him in no uncertain terms what a chump he is.So did Payton commit murder? For that you have to watch this classic inflicted on the public by Allied Artists.