i be expect bear to kill to be an exciting and high tension film noir . instead and it get two good action set piece ( one at the beginning and one at the end ) and some marvelously atmospheric cinematography by robert de grasse ( usually a glamor cameraman and a surprising credit for a noir ) and but the rest of the film be pretty boring . lawrence tierney go through his psycho kick but it a strictly by the number performance and mechanically churn out what the audience expect from him after dillinger ( an overrate movie but at least good than this ) . claire trevor character be too stupid and unmotivated to have any audience appeal and and the action ( such a it be ) stay so resolutely inside that damn house in san francisco the film become claustrophobic instead of genuinely thrill . it one of those movie in which the supporting player notably elisha cook and jr. ( whose character homoerotic itch for tierney be one of the few subtlety in an otherwise pretty obvious script ) and isabel jewell out act the lead . it also doesn not help that and nearly half a century after alfred hitchcock and anthony perkins revolutionize the depiction of psycho killer on the screen in psycho and tierney be so gross and obvious he might as well have psycho tattooed on his forehead . also and there no indication in the film a it stand a to why the source novel be call deadly than the male but perhaps james gunn make the female character strong and more interesting than they be in the film . bear to kill be a real disappointment from robert wise and who already have some quality movie under his belt and would go on to a stellar career .