dana andrew stand where the sidewalk end in this 1950 film that also star gene tierney and gary merrill and karl malden and neville brand . andrew play new york city detective sgt . mark dixon and a cop with a bad temper who have get into trouble in the past for beat suspect . when a man be murder at a gamble club own by a mobster and scalise ( merrill ) and dixon and his partner go to investigate . scalise blame the murder on ken paine ( stevens ) and who have now leave the club after fight not only with his wife and morgan ( tierney ) but the victim . dixon think the victim win a lot of money and be kill a a result by the mobster men . he go to see paine and and not realize he have a plate in his head from the war and knock him to the floor and inadvertently kill him . now he must cover up the murder . a a further complication and he fall for morgan while her father ( ken tully ) and who go to paine apartment after he saw that paine have hit his daughter and be arrest for the crime . this be a really terrific and gritty noir with some good performance . the ruggedly handsome and weathered andrew be convince a a tough yet nervous detective who have to stay one step ahead of his colleague . the movie reunite him with his fabulous laura costar and gene tierney and and she look lovely a a model with bad taste in men who apparently be use to be rough up . little do she know and she get another one on her hand . ken tully do a terrific job a her father and who protest his innocence despite some damn evidence . karl malden be very tough a dixon bos . my only problem with this well direct and fast moving and absorbing film be the end . pure hollywood and and put myself in tierney place and i doubt i would react the same way . a minor criticism for a film write by ben hecht and direct by otto preminger . i do not find it a awe inspiring a laura and but few thing in this world be . if you like film noir and this be a must see .