Director Nicholas Ray, and starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan. Digital presentation.
A New York detective is living on the edge. Hardened and embittered by years of dealing with the lowest forms of criminal life, to cool off he is assigned a rural murder, where an encounter with a blind woman might turn his life around.
An unusual noir for many reasons. The gritty city scenes give way to snowy pastoral landscapes as Ryan is sent to the country to calm down. There is an early example of hand-held camera as Ryan’s violence is highlighted, and Lupino’s blind woman’s vulnerability is enhanced by Bernard Herrmann’s effective score. A noir to treasure.