It’s cop vs. cop in this tense low-budget crime yarn full of cigarettes, fedoras and tragedy. Their battlefield is psychological and no matter who wins, you know they’re both doomed. Police detective partners Steve Cochran (all hair pomade and shiftiness) and Howard Duff (western star rugged and earnest) are on the trail of a counterfeiter with the help of hard-edged nightclub floozy Ida Lupino. They end up catching the guy, but one of the cops decides to pocket a hefty chunk of the phony money.
Independently produced by The Filmmakers, the company formed by producer Collier Young and star Ida Lupino, both of whom also wrote the script.