Robert Mitchum is Jeff, a former private eye who used to work for a gangster named Whit (Kirk Douglas). Jeff has long since quit and is now working at a gas station in a small mountain community in California.
One day he is met by a man who tells Jeff that Whit wants to see him and one thing snowballs into another and finally leaves Jeff no choice. On his way to the meeting Jeff takes along his girlfriend Ann (Virginia Huston)and tells her of how his past got so messed up.
Whit had hired Jeff to find his mistress named Kathis (Jane Greer) who has run off and stolen $40,000. A lot of crosses and double crosses followed as well as murder.
The movie then comes back to real time as we see Jeff is again tracking Kathie who falls in love with him.
Jacques Tourneur directed this gem and all of the leads are old hands at this type of film. Douglas is perfect as Whit, a man who always stays calm, but deep inside resents Jeff and his "who cares" attitude.
Jane Greer was 22 when she made this film, and what a beautiful, but cold blooded female she is. This is available on DVD, but I happened to catch this on TCM. It's well worth watching and I may add this to my collection.
The ending is pure noir. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
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