WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

seymourblack-1 Robert Montgomery directs and stars in this offbeat crime drama about an embittered ex-GI who attempts to avenge the death of his wartime buddy by blackmailing his buddy's killer. As the killer is a wealthy, ruthless and very powerful mob boss, the road to revenge proves to be very challenging but more surprisingly, it also proves to be a transformative experience for the would-be blackmailer as well as a route to his own redemption.World War 11 veteran Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) arrives in a small New Mexican town with a pistol and a bank cheque in his possession. After putting the cheque into a locker in San Pablo's bus depot, he sets off in search of somewhere to stay and after asking a group of young girls for directions, is led to the La Fonda Hotel by a young Native American girl called Pila (Wanda Hendrix). She insists on giving him a good luck charm which she says will protect him and despite his obvious cynicism, Gagin, who is rather disconcerted by the girl's fixed gaze, keeps the gift and soon goes on to discover that all of the local hotels are full because of the number of visitors who are in town for the annual fiesta.Gagin had come to San Pablo to blackmail the man he knew was responsible for killing his wartime buddy, Shorty Thompson. The man in question is Frank Hugo (Fred Clark), a mobster and fugitive from the American authorities and the bank cheque that Gagin has in his possession constitutes evidence that during his activities as a War profiteer, Hugo had bribed a high-ranking government official.Gagin visits Hugo's room at the La Fonda Hotel, but after assaulting the mobster's male secretary and meeting his devious moll, discovers that an early meeting won't be possible. After leaving Hugo's room, Gagin is approached by an FBI Agent called Bill Retz (Art Smith) who has been pursuing Hugo for some time and knows exactly what Gagin's got in mind. He tries to deter Gagin from going through with his plan and asks him for the evidence he's got, which could be used to bring Hugo to justice. Gagin refuses to co-operate and later goes to the "Cantina de las Tres Violetas" where he meets the jovial and very friendly Pancho (Thomas Gomez) who generously offers him somewhere to sleep for the night. Pancho is the proprietor of the town's carousel and the accommodation that the two men share for the night is his open- fronted shelter close-by.When Gagin gets the opportunity to demand $30,000 from Hugo for the incriminating cheque, the partially deaf criminal arranges to meet him at the Tip Top Cafe to do the deal. However, a double-cross follows when Gagin is attacked and stabbed by a couple of Hugo's thugs. Although he kills one of his attackers and seriously wounds the other, Gagin is very badly injured and is later found by Pila who had constantly been following him. Pila and Pancho then nurse him until he determinedly decides to confront Hugo again. What happens on this occasion turns out to be surprising to everyone concerned and contributes to Gagin's life taking a different and better course than he could possibly have expected.What Gagin had experienced during his military service had left him deeply disillusioned and angry and resulted in him becoming the extremely unpleasant individual that he was when he arrived in San Pablo. The friendship and loyalty that were extended to him by Pila and Pancho came as a huge surprise to him especially as neither of these impoverished individuals had anything to gain from their actions and, in fact, both suffered beatings to protect him. This experience and the unexpected way in which his efforts to blackmail Hugo ended, resulted in him leaving San Pablo as a significantly changed man.Robert Montgomery's directorial style is very accomplished and his use of a long single take early on in the action has the effect of grabbing and holding his audience's attention extremely successfully. The way in which another sequence is shot when Pancho is brutally beaten in front of some very distressed children on the carousel is also highly effective and makes a great impact.With its unusual story, sharp dialogue and consistently strong performances, this movie is highly successful in being entertaining and also in making some salient points at the same time.

gavin6942 In the border town of San Pablo, preparing for an annual 'Mexican Fiesta,' arrives Gagin (Robert Montgomery): tough, mysterious and laconic. His mission: to find the equally mysterious Frank Hugo (Fred Clark), evidently for revenge; or is it blackmail? This film gets credit for being a film noir set not in a big city or in some dark alley, but in a smaller southwestern town. And yet, despite the setting, it is firmly in the film noir genre and not in the western genre. Quite impressive.The story itself is pretty simple, but the characters are what make it great. Gagin is awesome, as is Hugo, but it is the FBI agent who makes it complete: cat versus mouse, or is it? Throw in the local peasant girl, and you have a well-rounded cast of characters.

jgavryck It's not often that a movie seen once more than 60 years ago lingers, hauntingly, in your memory. Robert Montgomery was a superb actor. His character is really a burnt out case who has seen too much of the hard life and has no compassion left, he thinks. Then he meets up with little Wanda Hendrix, and her plight melts his hard heart and leads to his coming to her aid. The last section of the movie is particularly gripping and atmospheric. It's finally evident where the title comes from. Robert Montgomery was one of our greatest character actors, and here he really lights up the screen in a wonderful performance. Wanda Hendrix is also very effective in her part. A great film noir film which deserves a better ranking. I'd love to see it again.

kyle_furr This is a relatively unknown film despite thomas gomaz being nominated for best supporting actor. What a shame, since this is a really great film. Although i do think that this is a pretty stupid title. It was also robert montgomery's second film as star and director after 1946's lady in the lake, in which he played phil marlowe.