Before this, I had never actually seen a Veronica Lake movie. I knew who she was, that fall of blond hair is pretty iconic, but I had never seen her act. She's great as a stage magician turned spy who gets caught up with an assassin (Alan Ladd, in his breakout role) with an axe to grind.The reason I will be buying this film, however, is Robert Preston. I'm used to Preston from his singing-dancing movies like Mame, Victor Victoria, and The Music Man. He's so young here he's almost unrecognizable. His speaking voice eventually gives him away. I don't think I have ever seen him in a straight drama, much less a noir.
Otherwise, the movie is pretty cut-and-dry, with a few less twists and turns than your later noirs. The plot here involves someone selling chemical formulas to aid American's enemies. Since it was shot during WWII, this was probably guaranteed to make audiences recoil in disgust. It's still strongly frowned upon, just in case you were wondering.
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