this film be a spicy little piece of film make from sam fuller which give richard widmark the chance to show of some of his best and most edgy acting in the role of skip mccoy and a small time thief who stumble onto a military secret while pick beautiful candy ( jean peter ) pocket on a crowd bus . it turn out candy be do a favor for her ( ex . ) boyfriend and who work for the commie . superficially and there a mystery here regard candy motif and skip spends much of the film determine her motif . actually he seem to just initially assume that she a commie and go so far a to pour beer in her face in a callous gesture . but the real question be what go on with skip . what be his motif and and why do candy like him so much . why do we ( the audience ) want to like him so much . basically what the film maker have do here be create a very striking male fatale in widmark character and his performance . just a the male audience tend to ponder through the length of a film like the big sleep or the glass key along with the main character whether the female character be trustworthy or just a pretty face and the film maker have here create a similar quandary for female viewer . widmark be handsome and and there also a charm in his boyish insouciance but the first two time he meet our leading lady and he rob her and then punch her in the face . eventually the question become would skip sink so low a to sell out his country for a buck ( his comment to the police and like youre wave a flag at me . make u suspect he would ) or be he simply out for revenge for the murder of his friend moe ( thelma ritter ) . i be not sure that the film give u a conclusive answer either way . thelma ritter character work deserve special mention she have create a truly indelible character here . fuller isn not afraid to give her plenty of business in the form of physical object that she use to draw the audience into her world and particularly her used tie . another example of fuller business would be the scene with victor perry ( an actor i have see elsewhere use to less effect ) use the chopstick to intimidate candy . the emphasis on moe relationship with skip provide one of cinema most revealing honor among thief theme . in fact skip have the same kind of ease and the same kind of casual relationship with the police and with the notable exception of capt . tiger ( murvyn vye ) who have a grudge against him . i love the scene where he invite the cop in by name and offer them a beer when they come to pick him up at his shack . those be the kind of detail that make this film feel real whether or not it really be realistic or whether that would matter be entirely separate question . all tell and i would say this be an essential crime film which display a lot of the best and most durable attribute of the film noir school of film making . a predictable plot be off set by a host of colorful character ( uniformly well perform ) and cheap set be disguise by the film unrelenting pace and and the final product feel a lot more substantial than it probably be . this be the best film i have see so far by sam fuller and help me to see well why he regard a a master director here he accomplish some thing that i think he try but ultimately fail to do in other film like the crimson kimono and shock corridor as far a very emphatic acting style and really gripping suspense . this be one of my favorite performance from widmark that i have see so far and widmark be a talent that i be tempt to say ( base on the few extraordinary film i have see with him ) be comparable to that of alan ladd or humphrey bogart and although arguably he do not make a many classic film .