The tale of a down-and-out detective and a seamy femme fatale is a thoroughly professional little entertainment.

The film sporadically achieves a truly seedy atmosphere, but there are too many symbols, too many loose ends, and too many vaguely sensationalist scenes.

Take out the f-words, switch it to black-and-white and the film could have been made in 1949. This is a compliment.

Overall, the movie plays like a decent "B" level noir, certainly worth viewing for fans of the genre.