It is no wonder that the film is as highly praised as it is since the author of
the book provided the screenplay which allowed Robert Mitchum and Jane
Greer to give such memorable performances. The book must rate as one
of the foremost of the genre - a complicated story of double cross with its
roots in the past played out against a tender love story with the unfortunate
but inevitable ending. Both the direct action and the interspersed almost
lyrical descriptive passages are the work of a master craftsman.