This is actually a very upsetting film, as the vile brutality and vicious corruption of Edmond O'Brien is difficult to associate with such a brilliant actor. It's a sinister drama of police corruption that hardly could be more dark and depressive. The fall of the protagonist into constantly deeper darkness and hopelessness of moral bankruptcy is almost unbearable. Still, there are some brighter spots. Carolyn Jones as a bar blonde at hand for comfort when the abyss gapes open is the one element of comedy in the film, and that whole spaghetti scene is paramount and the best of the film. There are some other scenes approaching it, like when he goes berserk at a public bath being both chased and chasing his own desperate destiny, and of course it can only end one way. It's one of the darkest noirs ever, but pay special attention to Emile Meyer as Captain Gunnarson. You'll never again see a cop like that. He actually runs the show and knows from the beginning the full extent of the troubles mounting and is the perfect realist to handle them. It's a great film worth watching to the end - if you can stand it.

And maybe all noir is Shakespearean. This one certainly is.Edmond O'Brien plays the "Macbeth", a rotten detective named Barney, but he isn't the politically correct deputy of Mayberry by a long shot.And it's okay to kid about it, because there is a fairly extensive dark comic relief scene in this film, where he is approached by a flirty blond girl, more cute than naturally attractive, but very charming, in a scene that culminates in a great directorial triumph of mixing violence (in the form of a beating) with dark comedy (as a patron stands in horror, yet continuing to gulp down his spaghetti).This is a perfect noir. The crooked detective begins with murdering a man, and using his "shield" to justify his actions. Agar is well cast as the "good cop" detective. English is stunning as the woman in the triangle about to form.We soon learn it isn't the first offense by the bad detective. The other characters play a big part in this film, as great films are usually the result of believable characters up and down the line up. These are all .300 hitters, down to the pitcher. No intentional walks to this group.And that does penalize it in IMDb voting, since most multiple accounts are from the bubble boys who won't appreciate the three dimensional villain we're given. IMDb's beavis and butthead type voters traditionally praise the "my sadist can outsadist your sadist" movies. This won't appeal to them, as O'Brien gives an acting clinic (helped by the rest of the cast, of course).The depth of O'Brien's acting could well be shown to classes, when one compares this to his technique in D.O.A.. For instance, there is a scene in this film where he recoils in horror upon being discovered, similar to the scene in D.O.A. where he recoils upon being diagnosed with luminous poisoning. Yet he clearly shows different expressions and emotions for recoiling from guilt and recoiling from persecution.This film flows well, full of pace, always with some action, comedy, or interesting tid bits to keep even the most easily bored into it. This film has many positives, and no negatives.

Edmond O'Brien has a "Shield for Murder" in this 1954 noir also starring Marla English, John Agar, and Carolyn Jones. O'Brien plays a bad cop - one review here said he was a good cop who gave into temptation. Not so. He was a bad cop, who had been suspected of trouble in the past but never caught.In the beginning of the film, Barney (O'Brien), a detective, kills a bookie and steals the $25,000 that the victim is carrying. He claims that he killed in self defense, and his story is accepted. Then the fact that the bookie was carrying money, now missing, emerges. What Barney doesn't know at first is that there is a witness, a deaf and dumb man, who saw the whole thing.Barney is a person of great interest to the bookie's boss, and also, a young man he helped bring up in the force (John Agar), his staunchist defender against criticism, is anxious to clear him. Barney, meanwhile, wants to purchase a dream house for him and his girlfriend (English) and get married. When he finds out about the witness, he needs to do some fast work.O'Brien gives a very hard-edged performance. His character is completely unlikable. The very pretty Marla English unfortunately was unable to act. In one scene, however, Barney goes into a bar and meets a platinum blonde, who turns out to be actress Carolyn Jones, normally known for her stylish short black haircut.Pretty brutal for the '50s. O'Brien elevates the material. Interesting noir, co-directed by Howard Koch and O'Brien.

Unfortunately roles for talented middle-aged actors like Edmond O'Brien and Ida Lupino were drying-up in the mid-1950's, with TV replacing the old black-and-white B-movie. Lupino carried on with a successful career behind the camera, and it appears O'Brien was exploring that option too, by co-directing this independent production. The results however are pretty uneven. O'Brien gets to sweat his usual bucket-load, playing a cop corrupted by the allure of a tract house in burgeoning suburbia. (Now there's a departure!-- in fact, one of the curious attractions is a tour through the well-appointed tract home of the period, something that glitzy Hollywood never had much time for.) There's also some well-staged scenes-- the shoot-out around the public pool is both unusual and well-executed, while the beating in the bar reaches a jarringly brutal pitch that registers on the stricken faces of the patrons and O'Brien's contorted brow.However, the pacing fails to generate the excitement or intensity a thriller like this needs. Plus the performance level really drops off with English and Agar. Their conversation around the pool, in fact, amounts to a seminar in bad acting. Too bad, O'Brien didn't have the budget to surround himself with a calibre of actors equal to his own. In passing-- the guy playing the deaf-mute really jarred me. He looks so unlike the usual bit-player and is so well cast that the scene in his room with O'Brien comes across as more than just a little poignant. Also, more than just a hint of kink emerges with Carolyn Jones' well-played barfly nympho. She's clearly on her way up the casting ladder. Anyway, there's probably enough compensation here to make up for Agar and English and the listless scenes in the station house, particularly for those curiosity seekers wondering about Better Homes and Gardens 1950's style.