Police Lt. Harry Grant is on the hunt for the murderer nicknamed The Judge.  No matter what the police do or try, it seems that this killer just cannot be stopped.  They have ample evidence and even a basic description of the man, but it just seems like he is a ghost and it leaves everyone chasing their tales.  Ann Gorman, a reporter is on the trail for the killer and the story as well and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get both.  She soon teams up with our fearless detective and together they start unearthing more clues and are soon hot on his trail.  For a while it is frustrating for everyone involved, especially when they have to use a dummy prop to jog people’s memories, but it all works out in the end and soon The Judge will be the one on the receiving end.

This was a decent little picture, being somewhat of a documentary, a drama, a thriller, with a little suspense and a hint of noir thrown in for good measure.  It was short and to the point though for a couple of moments it did seem to drag on a wee bit as the cops found themselves with their heads spinning over the lack of progression on the case.  Directed by Richard Fleischer and Anthony Mann and written by Mann, Lillie Hayward and Francis Rosenwald, they turned in a solid little B picture that was entertaining and was made better by the chemistry evidenced by its stars.

Starring as Harry Grant was William Lundigan and opposite him was Dorothy Patrick as Ann Gorman.  On screen they worked really well together.  Each actor clicked with the other and made the picture far better than it would have been if they had not.  You could see that they were having fun with the material, at least when they were together as most of it consisted of flirting and innuendos.  Gorman is cute and Lundigan is a handsome fellow and as an onscreen couple, they really delivered.  The rest of the cast did well in supporting its stars, but all eyes were on Lundigan and Patrick whenever they were in the scene.

The film does try to show how the police go about their jobs, the way they handle their evidence a little and how they go about identifying their targets.  The problem with the way the film goes about it is good, but the pacing gets a little ponderous and starts to make the film seem much longer than it is.   On the other hand, for the times, it was a little interesting as it shows just how much people rely on technology in current times.  So, if you are looking for a harmless bit of fluff to kill some time in-between other films and/or just something to do, then this film is for you.  It only runs a little over an hour and never oversteps itself, knowing it is a B film and nothing more.  The film could have gone a bit deeper into the human aspect of the job, of what the police go through to liven up the parts that dragged, but all in all, it did what it set out to do and told the story about the apprehension of a criminal and the way the police go about doing so.

3 out of 5