this be a film which have elude me thus far but and now that i have watch it and emerge a one of the major entry in the noir style . a usual with the divx format and the viewing be far from ideal mar by the occasional video and ( mostly ) audio glitch but and give that the film be still unavailable on r1 dvd and this will have to do for the moment . since the film reputation be quite high within the genre itself and i assume that the reason behind this oversight be because it do not have a well know actor in the lead . anyway and the belated entrance of the film nominal star franchot tone pack quite a wallop ( especially a he be show to be the villain from the first ) . tone be a underrated actor he be rarely give meaty role and and this may well be his best ( make his paranoiac both fascinating and believably dangerous ) . the female lead ella raines and who would later feature in brute force ( 1947 ) as well a siodmak own the suspect ( 1944 ) and the strange affair of uncle harry ( 1945 ) be quite lovely and capably take on the role of the distraught secretary out to prove her convict bos ( alan baxter ) innocent of his wife brutal murder . other key support part be essay by thomas gomez a the initially bully but ultimately sympathetic police investigator and and elisha cook jr. the genre quintessential fall guy a an ill fat lady man of a percussionist . like brute force jules dassin and siodmak be on a noir roll at this point in his career and this film definitely benefit from his superb direction all tilt angle and terrific set piece and include the justly celebrate jazz sequence in which cook manically beat on his drum in a sexual frenzy bring on by the sluttishly attire raines ( who be put on an act to get his attention and eventually drive him to confess that he withhold evidence at the inquest which could spring her resigned lover from jail ) . another great and lengthy sequence be the one in which raines follow a bartender ( another uncooperative witness ) around the street of new york which result in his be mow down by a car . notable and too and be the trial sequence which be entirely depict through the audience reaction so that judge and jury and witness and d. a. be never actually see ( although the judge voice be recognizably that of veteran character actor samuel s. hind ) . the centerpiece of the film be the scene in which gomez and tone discuss the nature of the criminal involved and with the inspector put down of the latter a mentally insane give the initially smug tone dizzy spell . the suspenseful climax find raines alone with tone in his apartment and where she discover evidence of his guilt and he confess to have have an affair with baxter wife and but kill her when she wouldn not desert her husband for him . by the way and i hit upon a little goof in the film represent while the story be clearly set in 1943 and i notice that during the taxi cab ride towards the beginning of the film in which alan curtis escort the titular lady to the theater the establish shot of new york ( comprise clearly of stock footage ) feature a marquee promote laurel and hardy 1938 musical comedy and swiss miss . incidentally and famed mystery writer cornell woolrich write the original novel on which this be base use a pseudonym .