Near-perfect murder mystery, from a novel by the poet Kenneth Fearing, about a Big Town crime reporter, overdue for vacation, following a killer's trail that seems to lead straight to himself. Classically compressed in time and space (two of the three "unities"), and the action (the third) is ushered along swiftly and flowingly by the underrated director, John Farrow. The title object is both an imposing and useful item in itself and an unstrained symbol of bigger things. Remade in 1987 as No Way Out, far, far from perfect. With Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, George Macready, Maureen O'Sullivan (Mrs. Farrow), and Elsa Lanchester (Mrs. Laughton). (1948) — Duncan Shepherd
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