E.V. "Marsh" Marshall (Tom Tryon) is an up-and-coming sales manager for the Ralph Nevin (James Gregory) real estate empire but little does Ralph know that his top employee is having an affair with his slinky wife "Paulie" (Carol Ohmart). Parked in a lover's lane one night, Marsh and Paulie overhear plans for a quarter million dollar jewel heist and high tail it out of there but it does plant a seed. Paulie's husband beats her and she wants out but she came from the tenements and doesn't want to go back so she begs Marsh to help her break free by ripping off the jewel robbers...

There's twists and turns galore in Michael Curtiz' suspense-filled '50s noir that for some reason remains unsung. This was no B-movie, either; it's a Paramount film in VistaVison produced and directed by an Academy Award winner with a sure hand for this sort of thing from a story by Frank Tashlin, of all people. The film "introduces" Tom Tryon, Carol Ohmart, and Jody Lawrance and although none of them went on to major stardom, Tom and Carol had respectable second tier careers. Ohmart was a very sexy lady with the kind of cruel beauty that lent itself well to femme fatale roles and handsome Tom conveys "conflicted" convincingly. Elaine Stritch (her feature film debut, as well) adds heart as Paulie's floozy friend from the old days before she married well and E.G. Marshall's on hand as the investigating police detective. Nat King Cole croons "Never Let Me Go" in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Recommended.

She's a tramp married to a violent older man, He's an employee of that very jealous husband who knows she's a tramp but can't prove it. They are desperate to escape her miserable existence, but she's reluctant to leave the financial support she gets behind. So while they are hiding out in lover's lane, they overhear the plot to rob a house while the owners are out of town. So she suggests that they rob the robbers and go on the run, and he becomes the total sap and agrees. But things don't always go as planned, and gunshots go off, turning their plot upside down and leaving somebody presumably dead.

Carol Ohmart is the seductive young wife with James Gregory ("The Manchurian Candidate") as her husband who is determined to help employee Tom Tryon move ahead in his real estate business, unaware that he's helped himself to Gregory's hearth and home already. The heat between the two lovers is undeniable, and Ohmart isn't without some heart. Of course, Tryon is totally suckered into her schemes, and witnessing the violence that Gregory inflicts on his wife, it's difficult not to blame Ohmart for plotting against him. Jody Lawrence displays vulnerability as Gregory's secretary, giving her all in a scene where Tryon walks into hear her taking dictation from a tape-recorder of the dead man. Later, Tryon finds out that his boss was onto him, and now he must really figure out how he's going to get out of this mess.

The wonderful Elaine Stritch is an instant scene-stealer as Ohmart's old burlesque girlfriend, singing a bit of "When I take my sugar to tea". Fresh from success on Broadway, this was Stritch's film debut, and even though her part has no bearing on the plot, she does get to provide not only an alibi to Ohmart but good insight into her fun-loving character as well. "General Hospital's" very first Edward Quartermain (David Lewis) is present as the mastermind behind the home break-in, while E.G. Marshall is the law enforcement officer put in charge of the investigation. "This is one for T.V.", Marshall comments, realizing that the case he's on (which appears to be suicide since Gregory was killed by his own gun) is more convoluted than anything on "Perry Mason" or "Dragnet".

A nice little sleeper of a film noir (late in the genre),this isn't anything we haven't seen before ("Double Indemnity", "Decoy", "Out of the Past" cover pretty much the same territory),but it is extremely well crafted. This shows how people who get involved in these types of situations crack under the pressure of not knowing what's going on in the minds of everybody else around them and how they pretty much do themselves in through just the emotion of guilt and paranoia. Director Michael Curtiz makes this speed along like a cross-country train where the only thing waiting at the end of the line is retribution and justice.

Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon are having a little rendezvous on a deserted road, when they overhear three guys plotting to knock over a house and steal $350,000 worth of jewelry. Since Ohmart is trying to ditch her husband (James Gregory),she eventually concocts a plan to rob the burglars, and suckers Tryon into it. The plan almost comes off … except that Gregory suspects the two are getting it on, and follows them. Tryon holds up the burglars, but as he makes his escape, the two burglars fire at him. Meanwhile, as Ohmart waits for Tryon in the getaway car, Gregory confronts her. Ohmart shoots him, and lets Tryon think the burglars hit him by accident. Of course, things slowly unravel from there, and there is also a neat twist involving the owner of the jewels.

There is some talent involved – Michael Curtiz directed, and keeps the pace moving fairly well. The supporting cast is good, and features Elaine Stritch as Ohmart's friend, and E. G. Marshall and Edward Binns as a couple of detectives. Richard Deacon has a bit as a jeweler. David Lewis (who played Edward Quartermaine for so many years on "General Hospital") makes his film debut. As a bonus, Nat King Cole appears and sings "Never Let Me Go." Tryon is acceptable in his role, but that's about it. Ohmart, who was wonderfully treacherous as Vincent Price's wife in House on Haunted Hill, looks great, but her voice is a little too monotone to suit me.

One of the screenwriters is billed as Rip Van Ronkel. Apparently he didn't want to use his real name, Rupert Stiltskin.