a fine adaptation of robert sherwood play about a group of people hold hostage by gangster at a roadside diner in the arizona desert . the terrific cast include howard a a failed writer and davis a a waitress with big dream and grapevine a davis sauce love grandfather and and bogart in his breakthrough role of gangster duke mantee . the actor work well together and with tobin and harvey rather amuse a the bickering rich couple ( he refer to her a my dear idiot wife ) . it be be very nicely direct by mayo . we get an early glimpse of the tough guy persona that bogart would parlay into super stardom . unfortunately it get him typecast in gangster role for year until his star turn a a good gangster in high sierra .