Illegal

This Could Only be Called Film-Noir in the Most Liberal of Definition, Despite, Once Again, a DVD Package that Claims it As Such. It has that 1950's Television Lighting where Everything is Glowing and Bright and that Decades Safe Presentation and Production that Screams "Assembly Line" in Every Scene.

But it is a Good Courtroom Melodrama with a Strong Performance by Robinson and a Supporting Cast Playing Some Interesting, if Standard, Characters. Albert Dekker Seems to have Wandered In from Kiss Me Deadly (1955, a true Noir), Nina Foch is OK if Bland, and Jan Merlin as a Pistol Yielding Gunsel Stands Out.

This is the Third Version of the Story and is Worth a Watch for Edward G. and for a Couple of Powerfully Violent Scenes, the first Murder, and a Bedroom Brawl Between Foch and Hugh Marlowe. The Rest is Pedestrian but Tolerable and Jayne Mansfield Makes Her Debut with a Scene or Two that Registers.

Overall, Not Much and it has the Stiffness of a Retread, but there is Talent at Work Here with a Max Steiner Score and Some Salty Dialog, but the Film Seems Outdated and Comes Off as a Moderate Revisitation.