A pity that the film degenerates through attempting too much; for in the first half, when Dassin is working within his limitations, he creates an admirably incisive and entertaining piece of melodrama.

Viewers become something like collaborators, invested in working out what, say, that umbrella is going to be used for - and then pleased to discover whether we've gotten it right or not.

Jules Dassin doesn't waste much time in expressing exactly what he thinks of the criminals and gangster culture that rule his underworld.

...a first-class picture that lives up to its place as a classic example of the heist genre.