• An intelligent and engaging take on both social issues and the crime genre
  • This could change as I get my hands on some of his 50’s films (particularly those with Losey) but for now this is the earliest Bogarde film in my archives
  • First film to use word “homosexual” according to IMDB
  • Palpable tension—desperation and urgency in almost every frame
  • The film’s lighting and pulsing score is like a noir
  • Bogarde reaction hanging in close-ups several times- great underacting—stone faced with mind racing
  • The film consistently skews clichés—the head detective is intelligent and reasoned socially- Bogarde’s boss and wife are loyal and level headed –
  • Bogarde’s character is complicated
  • Intelligent and intricate
  • “I can’t help the way I am. The law says I’m a criminal” says one character which is close to being too on the nose but works here
  • Recommend