elegance and class be not always the first word that come to mind when folk ( at least folk who might do such a thing ) sit around and talk about film noir . yet some of the best film of the genre and out of the past and the killer and in a lonely place and night and the city and manage a level of sleek sophistication that elevate them beyond a moody catch phrase and it connotation of forebode shadow and fedora and and femme fatales . where the sidewalk end and a fairly difficult to find film the only copy in perhaps the best stocked video store in manhattan be a rough bootleg from the amc cable channel belongs in a category with these classic . from the moment the black cloud of open credit pas and a curtain be draw around rogue loner detective marc dixon crumble world and and a the moment pas and it inch ever close and threaten suffocation . sure and he that familiar cop with a dark past and but dana andrew give dixon a bleak stare and troubled intensity that make you as uncomfortable a he seem . and yeah and he be smack around suspect for too long and and the newly promote chief ( karl malden and in a typically robust and command out ) be warn him for the last time . yet dixon hate these thug too much to stop now . and boy do not they have have it come . hood and duster and mug and gutter nickel rat he spit when that tough nut of a bos demote him and roll out all of the complaint the bureau have be receive about dixon right hook . the advice be for him to cool off for his own good . but instead he take matter into his own hand . and what a world of trouble he find when he rely on his instinct and and fall back on a nature that may or may not have be pass down from a generation before . right away he in deep with the cop and the syndicate and his own partner . dixon questionable involvement in a murder investigation threaten his job and make him wonder whether he be simply as base a those he have swear to bring in . like bogart in lonely place and can he escape what he be . when he have nowhere else to turn and he discover that he have virtually doom his unexpected relationship with a seraphic beauty ( the marvelous gene tierney ) who seem a if she can turn his barren bachelor existence into something worth come home to . the pacing of this superb film be taut and grip . the group of writer that contribute to the production polish the script to a high gloss the dialogue be snappy without disintegrate into date parody fodder and passionate without become melodramatic or sappy . and all of this top notch direction and act isn not too slick or buff to loosen the film emotional hold . gene tierney angelic and soft focus beauty be use to great effect . she show herself to be an actress of considerable range and and her gentle and kind nature be a boundless here as be her psychosis in leave her to heaven . the scene between tierney and andrew dixon grow more intense and touch the closer he seem to self destruction . near the end of his rope and cut and bruise and and exhaust dixon summarize his lot represent innocent people can get into terrible jam and too and . he say . one false move and youre in over your head . perhaps what make this film so totally compelling be the sense that thing could go wildly wrong for almost anyone especially for someone who be try so hard to do right with one slight shift in the wind and one wrong decision or punch and or and most frighteningly and due to factor you have no control over . noir have always reflect the dark fear and bring them to the surface . where the sidewalk end do so in a realistic fashion . ( one nit pick of an aside represent this otherwise sterling film have a glaringly poor dub of a blonde model that wouldn not seem out of place on mystery science theater . how very odd . ) but noir fan heck and any movie fan who haven not see this one be in for a terrific treat .