The film has a great opening hook. A man shows up at a police station to report a murder - his own. Well that got my attention. But then the next few minutes almost ruined it for me. The following scenes after the police station include some bad acting, soap opera type material - especially with the sappy secretary who whines and nags. But I thought, okay I'll give it a little time. It does eventually get going, but still has some annoying traits. Particularly the sound effects whistles every time the lead character sees a pretty woman.
My biggest problem was the convoluted plot and murky characters. While I do like a movie that has some complexity and layers to solve, I don't like it when it gets too complicated and hard to figure out who all the suspects are and what they have to do with the victim. The players involved get confusing as the plot goes in one direction, then another. I just wasn't clear in how it all fit together in the end. I'm still not sure how Rakubian, Phillipos and Mrs. Rakubian fit it.
But faults aside, there are some good points. Like the superb cinematography that only could be effective in the classic black and white like a true noir film should be. I loved the scene where he is running through the streets of San Fransisco after he gets the fatal diagnosis. I also loved the setting for the climax scene between Bigelow and Halliday in that dark office building with the great wrap around balconies - very effective in helping convey the mood.
There is some overacting to be had in this film. Obviously the whiny secretary gets to be a little over the top. Also, the scene where he bursts into the emergency hospital unit - I thought the doctor and nurses in that scene gave very exaggerated performances. I also felt that when Bigelow finally succumbs in the end in the police station, he literally throws himself on the floor which was not at all a believable reaction. The ending title screen with "the medical facts in this film are authentic.luminous toxin is a descriptive term for an actual poison" was a cheesy way to close a classic Noir film. But that's just my opinion.
Overall, it is still worth watching if you can look past the shortcomings and can manage to follow along with the plot. I only watched it one time, so maybe it takes multiple viewings to understand and truly appreciate this classic.
My biggest problem was the convoluted plot and murky characters. While I do like a movie that has some complexity and layers to solve, I don't like it when it gets too complicated and hard to figure out who all the suspects are and what they have to do with the victim. The players involved get confusing as the plot goes in one direction, then another. I just wasn't clear in how it all fit together in the end. I'm still not sure how Rakubian, Phillipos and Mrs. Rakubian fit it.
But faults aside, there are some good points. Like the superb cinematography that only could be effective in the classic black and white like a true noir film should be. I loved the scene where he is running through the streets of San Fransisco after he gets the fatal diagnosis. I also loved the setting for the climax scene between Bigelow and Halliday in that dark office building with the great wrap around balconies - very effective in helping convey the mood.
There is some overacting to be had in this film. Obviously the whiny secretary gets to be a little over the top. Also, the scene where he bursts into the emergency hospital unit - I thought the doctor and nurses in that scene gave very exaggerated performances. I also felt that when Bigelow finally succumbs in the end in the police station, he literally throws himself on the floor which was not at all a believable reaction. The ending title screen with "the medical facts in this film are authentic.luminous toxin is a descriptive term for an actual poison" was a cheesy way to close a classic Noir film. But that's just my opinion.
Overall, it is still worth watching if you can look past the shortcomings and can manage to follow along with the plot. I only watched it one time, so maybe it takes multiple viewings to understand and truly appreciate this classic.