Overrated and overhyped

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is actually a very upsetting film, as the vile brutality and vicious corruption of Edmond O'Brien is difficult to associate with such a brilliant actor. It's a sinister drama of police corruption that hardly could be more dark and depressive. The fall of the protagonist into constantly deeper darkness and hopelessness of moral bankruptcy is almost unbearable. Still, there are some brighter spots. Carolyn Jones as a bar blonde at hand for comfort when the abyss gapes open is the one element of comedy in the film, and that whole spaghetti scene is paramount and the best of the film. There are some other scenes approaching it, like when he goes berserk at a public bath being both chased and chasing his own desperate destiny, and of course it can only end one way. It's one of the darkest noirs ever, but pay special attention to Emile Meyer as Captain Gunnarson. You'll never again see a cop like that. He actually runs the show and knows from the beginning the full extent of the troubles mounting and is the perfect realist to handle them. It's a great film worth watching to the end - if you can stand it.

This film begins with perhaps the worst instance where a boom microphone is obviously in the shot. As Edmond O'Brien is walking from left to right across the screen, you can very, very clearly see the microphone's shadow. It's so clear and obvious you wonder how the film ever got released this way. It's funny but also rather sloppy. The same can be said for showing a revolver with a silencer--it quiets the shot SOME but isn't as silent as they usually show in films. These mistakes are probably there because this is a low-budget film and didn't have the care needed for a more prestigious project. It could also be that co-director and star Edmond O'Brien simply was out of his element as a director. Despite these limitations, the film IS worth seeing and I enjoyed it very much. That's because the script was taut and well-written. Additionally, the acting was fine---quite realistic and gritty.The film begins with a police detective (O'Brien) killing a bag man for the mob. In other words, this man was carrying a huge amount of illegal gambling money. However, this killing was NOT a mistake---O'Brien had decided to cash in on some seemingly easy money--killing the guy and claiming it was accidental. While this seems a bit suspicious, the story seemed plausible enough and it appeared as if he'll get away with murder and $25,000. However, there turned out to be a witness and soon O'Brien has killed again to hide his crime. And, like eating potato chips, O'Brien can't just stop there, as his plan is unraveling and the only way to keep it together is to kill again and possibly again.In addition to O'Brien, John Agar plays a younger cop who is O'Brien's friend. He is torn, as he strongly believes in O'Brien--but over time, it becomes more and more clear that O'Brien has gone bad. This is an interesting character and gave some depth to the film--and proves that despite conventional wisdom, Agar was a pretty good actor--he just chose to appear in a lot of rotten films in the 1950s and 60s (after his divorce from Shirley Temple).Overall, the film gets very high marks for its realism. In particular, it's very, very brutal for a Film Noir picture--one scene in particular made me cringe. It also gets high marks for the plot as well as O'Brien's excellent acting. It's actually surprising today that Edmond O'Brien is pretty much forgotten, as this Oscar-winning actor and supporting actor was great in tough-guy roles as he was far from the usual Hollywood "pretty boy"--an ugly and brick-like guy who could really act.So, despite a few technical problems, this is a better than average cop film that holds up very well today. For fans of Noir, like myself, it's a must-see--as is any O'Brien Noir film!

Edmond O'Brien has a "Shield for Murder" in this 1954 noir also starring Marla English, John Agar, and Carolyn Jones. O'Brien plays a bad cop - one review here said he was a good cop who gave into temptation. Not so. He was a bad cop, who had been suspected of trouble in the past but never caught.In the beginning of the film, Barney (O'Brien), a detective, kills a bookie and steals the $25,000 that the victim is carrying. He claims that he killed in self defense, and his story is accepted. Then the fact that the bookie was carrying money, now missing, emerges. What Barney doesn't know at first is that there is a witness, a deaf and dumb man, who saw the whole thing.Barney is a person of great interest to the bookie's boss, and also, a young man he helped bring up in the force (John Agar), his staunchist defender against criticism, is anxious to clear him. Barney, meanwhile, wants to purchase a dream house for him and his girlfriend (English) and get married. When he finds out about the witness, he needs to do some fast work.O'Brien gives a very hard-edged performance. His character is completely unlikable. The very pretty Marla English unfortunately was unable to act. In one scene, however, Barney goes into a bar and meets a platinum blonde, who turns out to be actress Carolyn Jones, normally known for her stylish short black haircut.Pretty brutal for the '50s. O'Brien elevates the material. Interesting noir, co-directed by Howard Koch and O'Brien.

Antihero star/director O'Brien does a good job. He plays a real beast -- a crooked cop who will do the lowest of the low.Marla English, as his girlfriend, is pretty and eefftive enough. She looks a lot like Elizabeth Taylor at that time.It's unusually brutal for its time but not espcially good.