Gripping film noir with Dennis O'Keefe as Joe Sullivan, a man who escapes from prison with help from Pat, the woman (Claire Trevor) who's loved him and stuck by him for years. But Joe's fallen in love with a sympathetic caseworker (Marsha Hunt) and forces her to accompany him and Pat as they flee. Meanwhile, Raymond Burr plays the man responsible for Joe being in prison. He owes Joe money and sends a hit-man to make sure Joe doesn't try to collect.

A great movie from Anthony Mann. Wonderful script and cast. O'Keefe has arguably the best role of his career here. Trevor's perfect as always. A truly gifted actress who doesn't get as much respect as some of her contemporaries. Marsha Hunt does well with the weakest part in the film. She looks beautiful, which doesn't hurt. Raymond Burr's a sadistic and nasty villain. He has one scene that's pretty shocking for the time and makes the famous coffee-throwing scene from The Big Heat look like a kiss on the cheek. A classic film noir that all fans of the genre should see.

I love Film Noir and this might just be my favorite genre. And I was very impressed by this film because I find I usually prefer Noir films with lesser-known actors because this often gives the films greater realism than those made by the big-named stars. This one featured Dennis O'Keefe and John Ireland--two exceptional Noir actors who never could have been stars in other films due to their ugly mugs! This, and the nifty dialog really made this an enjoyable film. Plus, in a supporting role, Raymond Burr is a horrible sadist and one of the better antagonists in Noir history--I was shocked and amazed to watch him throw a lit chaffing dish full of alcohol on a lady just because she laughed!! And, when O'Keefe slapped Claire Trevor across the face, I knew this was a Noir film with little sentiment (a hallmark of better Noir).

Unfortunately, while the film had so many elements I liked, there was one clichéd role that seriously detracted from the gritty realism and that was the character played by Marsha Hunt. Although she believed in O'Keefe's innocence, she was an unwilling accessory to his escape from prison. Throughout much of the film, she is held at gunpoint or other threats of violence to get her to stay with O'Keefe and Trevor. Because of this, she naturally hates and resents them. So, when out of the blue, she falls for him and is willing to kill for him later in the film, it just makes no sense at all! Aside from this slip-up (and it's a big one),it's still a dandy film and is well worth your time.

Dennis O'Keefe stars in this crackerjack noir film directed by Anthony Mann. O'Keefe plays a man who took a rap for gangster kingpin Raymond Burr and now he's thinking he's gotten the bad end of a Raw Deal. He wants out of prison and Burr arranges an escape hoping he'll be killed in the attempted breakout.

If you recognize the plot think back to Angels With Dirty Faces where James Cagney takes the rap for Humphrey Bogart and George Bancroft and now wants back in on the rackets they've built up and the other two don't want to cut him in. As dark as that classic was, Raw Deal is a good deal darker as O'Keefe's world is getting smaller and smaller due to the bad choices he made in life.

With cops and Burr looking for him, Dennis also has himself involved with two women, steady streetwise Claire Trevor and the secretary of his lawyer Marsha Hunt. Both are carrying a big torch for O'Keefe, but Trevor is the jealous sort.

Watching Raw Deal reminded me of a Eugene O'Neill play Strange Interlude where the characters voice over narration tells you their real feelings. That device is used for O'Keefe, Trevor, and Hunt as they express their emotions in the narration. And like any classic O'Neill play there is an inevitability about these people especially O'Keefe.

Before Anthony Mann moved on to westerns and bigger budgets he did some good noir work in the Forties and Raw Deal is a fine example.