Frankie (Burt Lancaster) is released after 14 years in prison and is met by old friend Dave (Wendell Corey) who sets him up with a place to stay. He senses that Dave is uneasy with him and discovers that Dave is working for his old partner in crime, Noll (Kirk Douglas), who is now running a successful nightclub. Frankie visits the club and Noll is curious to find out what he wants. He instructs his mistress Kay (Lizabeth Scott), who is a singer at the club, to pump Frankie for information over a dinner. It is soon clear to Frankie that everyone around him is under the influence of Noll and so confronts him with a demand of a half share in the business. Noll refuses and Frankie plans to take what he believes is rightfully his - they agreed to split things 50-50 if either of them went to prison. It is interesting to see the two different characters pitted against each other, ie, Frankie (straight forward and uneducated) vs Noll (deceitful and intelligent). Kay switches allegiance when she hears of Noll's intention to marry Mrs Richardson (Kristine Miller) and Dave also has 2nd thoughts about Noll....
The film is well-acted but Lizabeth Scott seems slightly out of place as a world-weary nightclub singer. She's too young to be believable as someone who has been "around the block", and I also found her voice slightly irritating. The acting honours go to Kirk Douglas and Wendell Corey. Burt Lancaster tends to overact his part. My favourite part of the film is the sequence where Frankie confronts Noll with a team of heavies in order to get what he feels is his share of the nightclub. We have a very amusing scene where Noll and Dave confuse him with legal speak to the point where even his gang of thugs give up with the whole idea.
It's an entertaining film although I was expecting slightly more from it. There is also a melodramatic piece of music that is played throughout the WHOLE film. I can't remember when the music wasn't playing!
The film is well-acted but Lizabeth Scott seems slightly out of place as a world-weary nightclub singer. She's too young to be believable as someone who has been "around the block", and I also found her voice slightly irritating. The acting honours go to Kirk Douglas and Wendell Corey. Burt Lancaster tends to overact his part. My favourite part of the film is the sequence where Frankie confronts Noll with a team of heavies in order to get what he feels is his share of the nightclub. We have a very amusing scene where Noll and Dave confuse him with legal speak to the point where even his gang of thugs give up with the whole idea.
It's an entertaining film although I was expecting slightly more from it. There is also a melodramatic piece of music that is played throughout the WHOLE film. I can't remember when the music wasn't playing!