A parolee (Ralph Bellamy) too handy with his fists comes to the aid of a woman in distress (Fay Wray) who takes refuge in his cabin, and he then clashes with an old rival (Melvyn Douglas) and may have ended up committing the same sort of crime that had put him behind bars. The movie, more drama than crime flick, albeit based on a story by Dashiell Hammett, falls rather flat, but the main characters remain watchable nonetheless.

  Mildly recommended at best. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great.

Movie 373 for 2021.