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Sadly Over-hyped

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Gordon MacRae is a wounded ex-GI who's been in an army hospital for treatment for a broken spine. He falls for the beautiful nurse who took care of him, and he and his army buddy have planned to go into business as ranchers when he was released from the hospital. However, his buddy disappears suddenly and MacRae is told by the police that's because he's the prime suspect in the murder of a notorious gambler. MacRae, refusing to believe that his pal is guilty of the crime, sets out to find his buddy and clear his name.Director Vincent Sherman, an old Warner Brothers hand, was an expert at making tight, suspenseful thrillers--check out "Underground", a terrific 1941 little "B" he made for Warners--but this isn't one of his better efforts. He doesn't seem to have had his heart in it, as there are holes in the somewhat contrived script big enough to drive a truck through, there are way too many convenient coincidences and the identity of the real killer becomes very obvious not long into the picture. Edmond O'Brien is excellent as MacRae's army buddy but Virginia Mayo isn't much more than window dressing as MacRae's love interest (his real wife Sheila MacRae has a small part as a brassy party girl). MacRae tries hard, but he just isn't up to the part. It has a good supporting cast and does have its moments, but overall it's one of Vincent Sherman's lesser efforts, with more minuses than pluses.

I'd like to nominate Backfire as having the most overbearing, obnoxious musical score in the history of motion pictures. Every scene features ominous music to the point of distraction (1947's Angel & the Badman stands on a plateau just below Backfire... but sounds like Wayne & Co. simply recycled a serial soundtrack to save money). Backfire's music undermines every scene, creating the nauseating feeling that every frame is bursting with suspense... essentially validating Ivan Triesault's (as the director Von Ellstein) complaint (paraphrased) in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) that every scene cannot be climactic. This is a textbook example of how less is more in film noir.

All You need do is Look at the very Last Shot in this Film to tell the Difference between Absolute Film-Noir and by 1950, the need for a more Optimistic View. To be a bit Melodramatic, the turn of the Decade was the Beginning of the End for the Genre known as Film-Noir. While there Certainly were a Number of Movies to fit the Category in the Eisenhower Years they were becoming, as a Whole, Diluted. This is a Complex Film that Requires some Concentration. It Moves through the use of Flashbacks to tell the Story and there are Numerous Characters with Numerous Interactions and it is all a bit much to Digest.But it is well Worth a Watch for some Good Scenes and a Number of Diverse Settings. The Dialog is less than Cynical and the Characters are less than Baroque. But it has Enough of a Conceit to draw You in and Play with You a bit, and Challenges at almost every Turn of Events.It does fit, somewhat Uncomfortably in the Noir Category but for the best of the Genre, it really is, Mostly, from 1940-1949. There are Exceptions of course but as Time Marched On, Film-Noir was not Always what it Seemed.

Gordon MacRae in an actual totally non-singing role. He did well here as a veteran searching through the film for his war buddy Edmond O'Brien who seems to have gone missing as the Gordon character is supposed to be released from the hospital.Ironically, the femme fatale here is not Virginia Mayo but rather Viveca Lindfors, who delivers a quality performance. Ed Begley is his usual crusty self as the head of the police force and Dane Clark steals each scene he is in and as always is at his best in his insanity scene with those bulging eyes.When the bodies start to pile up, you think it's all related to gambling, but as always there is a girl involved and trouble ahead for those who fell for her.