I watched this because of the presence of Spencer Tracy, and learned only after the fact that this was Fritz Lang's first American film. I found the whole thing to be an exercise in contrivance. Nothing in the film seems really believable. Further, a movie that deals with mob violence (the jail burning is treated as a "lynching") and that avoids putting it in a racial context seems to be making a calculated exercise in avoidance. The Tracy character's change in character from a nice guy to, after his traumatic experience, a vicious and cynical man thirsting for revenge is just too pat to be believable. And then there is the business of those hugely unsubtle plot hints to the viewer. On the whole I found the film worth watching only for its historical value, not for any inherent virtues.
It was interesting to catch Walter Brennan in what I thought was an early role, until I learned via IMDB that he had made 120 movies in the eleven years he was working in Hollywood prior to this flick!
One other Lang movie I have seen - the excellent Woman in the Window - shows that he had vastly sharpened his skills for the American audience by 1946.
It was interesting to catch Walter Brennan in what I thought was an early role, until I learned via IMDB that he had made 120 movies in the eleven years he was working in Hollywood prior to this flick!
One other Lang movie I have seen - the excellent Woman in the Window - shows that he had vastly sharpened his skills for the American audience by 1946.