**SPOILERS** Having found out in the local newspapers that Frank Enley, Van Haflin, is going to speak at the Memorial Day ceremony at Santa Lisa Calif. disable war vet Joe Parkson, Robert Ryan, takes off on a Grayhound bus from NYC to see him. Joe and his fellow airman Frank had been in a German POW camp in the last months of WWII and you at first would have thought that he went to see him to talk over old times in the USAAF but that was the farthest thing from Joe's mind. Joe wanted to kill Frank for informing on his fellow POW's that resulted in ten of them being gunned down in an escape attempt by the Germans camp guards with Joe ending up a cripple.
Unstable war vet Joe Parkson feels that he has nothing to lose, since he felt that he lost everything in the war, as he goes on a mission of death to avenge the deaths of his fellow captured US airmen. Joe cases out the Enley home even knocking on the front door and finding that the object of his revenge,Frank, has gone away for the weekend fishing at Redwood Lake from his unsuspecting wife Edith, Janet Leigh. Renting a car and going to Redwood Lake to confront and murder Frank Joe leaves enough of a paper trail, by giving his whereabouts away, to have Frank realize that he's in Santa Lisa and out to kill him.
Edith who at first is shocked at what her husband told her about his actions in the prison camp but realizes that Frank's actions, as despicable as they seemed to be, were done to prevent the airmen from ending up getting mowed down by the Germans since the escape attempt was nothing more then a suicide mission. Frank, being the senior officer and in charge of the POW's, went to the German commandant and told him what was about to transpire who promised that they, the Germens, won't shoot the escapees but capture and return them back to the prison camp, the exact opposite happened. The escaped prisoners were gunned down by the Germans who then had a number of German guard dog set on them finishing off those who survived with only the badly injured Joe Packston escaping.
You would think at first that all Frank had to do was call the police who would have easily arrested Joe who wasn't doing anything to hide his intentions of murdering Frank. You soon realized that Frank held himself as guilty as Joe did by his not only turning his fellow US airmen in but also,and this really hit home with Frank, receiving and accepting food from his German captures for doing it.
Afride for his wife Edith and young son Frank checks out of Santa Lisa to L.A at a contractor convention to draw Joe away from his family but the guilt that had been building up inside of him, about his actions in the prison camp, was slowly getting the best of Frank. Spotting Joe looking for him at the convention hall Frank cold-cocks him and takes off into the night ending up in a ginmill where he's approached by local barfly Pat, Mary Astor, who senses that he needs help, of the underhanded kind. Getting in touch with a couple of local shady characters that Pat knows she get the confused and befuddled Frank to agree to have Joe whacked for $20,000.00. Told that hit-man Johnny, Barry Kroeger, has set up Joe for the kill and is going to Santa Lisa to do a job on him has Frank make a complete turnaround. Frank's now determined not to stop Joe from murdering him but Barry from murdering Joe and having that on his conscience together with the ten men who were killed by the Germans at the prison camp. Meanwhile Joe's girlfriend from back east Ann, Phyllis Thaxter,had arrived to also stop her boyfriend from killing Frank and ending up either behind bars, or in a mental institution, for the rest of his life and gets in touch with Edith to get her to have her husband Frank slip out of town to prevent Joe from killing him.
Frank by now had already made up his mind and is no longer afraid of being killed, feels that his actions in the German POW camp justified Joe's feelings for him. What he now want's is for Joe not to be killed by Barry and goes out to the Santa Lisa train station where Barry had set Joe up for the hit and prevent it from happening even if by doing that it would cost him his life.
Even though a bit contrived with a very predictable ending that you saw coming from ten miles away the movie still held your interests due to the fine acting of both Van Hefin and Robert Ryan who made you overlook most, if not all, of the movies faults. With the two top stars, as well as the supporting cast, overcoming the very uneven storyline and script that they had to work with.
Unstable war vet Joe Parkson feels that he has nothing to lose, since he felt that he lost everything in the war, as he goes on a mission of death to avenge the deaths of his fellow captured US airmen. Joe cases out the Enley home even knocking on the front door and finding that the object of his revenge,Frank, has gone away for the weekend fishing at Redwood Lake from his unsuspecting wife Edith, Janet Leigh. Renting a car and going to Redwood Lake to confront and murder Frank Joe leaves enough of a paper trail, by giving his whereabouts away, to have Frank realize that he's in Santa Lisa and out to kill him.
Edith who at first is shocked at what her husband told her about his actions in the prison camp but realizes that Frank's actions, as despicable as they seemed to be, were done to prevent the airmen from ending up getting mowed down by the Germans since the escape attempt was nothing more then a suicide mission. Frank, being the senior officer and in charge of the POW's, went to the German commandant and told him what was about to transpire who promised that they, the Germens, won't shoot the escapees but capture and return them back to the prison camp, the exact opposite happened. The escaped prisoners were gunned down by the Germans who then had a number of German guard dog set on them finishing off those who survived with only the badly injured Joe Packston escaping.
You would think at first that all Frank had to do was call the police who would have easily arrested Joe who wasn't doing anything to hide his intentions of murdering Frank. You soon realized that Frank held himself as guilty as Joe did by his not only turning his fellow US airmen in but also,and this really hit home with Frank, receiving and accepting food from his German captures for doing it.
Afride for his wife Edith and young son Frank checks out of Santa Lisa to L.A at a contractor convention to draw Joe away from his family but the guilt that had been building up inside of him, about his actions in the prison camp, was slowly getting the best of Frank. Spotting Joe looking for him at the convention hall Frank cold-cocks him and takes off into the night ending up in a ginmill where he's approached by local barfly Pat, Mary Astor, who senses that he needs help, of the underhanded kind. Getting in touch with a couple of local shady characters that Pat knows she get the confused and befuddled Frank to agree to have Joe whacked for $20,000.00. Told that hit-man Johnny, Barry Kroeger, has set up Joe for the kill and is going to Santa Lisa to do a job on him has Frank make a complete turnaround. Frank's now determined not to stop Joe from murdering him but Barry from murdering Joe and having that on his conscience together with the ten men who were killed by the Germans at the prison camp. Meanwhile Joe's girlfriend from back east Ann, Phyllis Thaxter,had arrived to also stop her boyfriend from killing Frank and ending up either behind bars, or in a mental institution, for the rest of his life and gets in touch with Edith to get her to have her husband Frank slip out of town to prevent Joe from killing him.
Frank by now had already made up his mind and is no longer afraid of being killed, feels that his actions in the German POW camp justified Joe's feelings for him. What he now want's is for Joe not to be killed by Barry and goes out to the Santa Lisa train station where Barry had set Joe up for the hit and prevent it from happening even if by doing that it would cost him his life.
Even though a bit contrived with a very predictable ending that you saw coming from ten miles away the movie still held your interests due to the fine acting of both Van Hefin and Robert Ryan who made you overlook most, if not all, of the movies faults. With the two top stars, as well as the supporting cast, overcoming the very uneven storyline and script that they had to work with.