Jamie Smith

Stanley Kubrick's second feature film covers two days in the life of boxer Davy Gordon — he meets nightclub dancer Gloria Price; the two fall in love, and decide to make their futures somewhere other than New York City. But Vince Rapallo, Gloria's ex-employer, wants her for himself, and not only won't take "no" for an answer but has no intention of losing her to a two-bit boxer. His machinations lead to murder, a police manhunt, and revenge in the best film noir fashion — the very best, in fact, as Kubrick's use of real New York settings gives the action here a startling verisimilitude, as though we're watching a documentary, or the unfolding of actual events. The violence escalates as Davy and Rapallo find themselves going one-on-one, to the death if need be, with a climax in a warehouse filled with department store mannequins and their various component parts. This low-budget film definitely foreshadows Kubrick as one of the most amazing talents in cinematic history.

As a man waits at a train station for his girl, he tells us about the recent past and we segue into a long flashback.

As a man waits at a train station for his girl, he tells us about the recent past and we segue into a long flashback.