This beguiling and breakneck B-picture about a crime-solving doctor on the Great White Way was intended to be the first of a series of films based on the character created by writer Borden Chase (Red River, Winchester 73). It’s now notable for being the first feature directed by Anthony Mann, who would soon create some of the most influential noir films of the 1940s (T-Men, Raw Deal, Border Incident). Working with the brilliant ex-pat cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl, Mann shows right from the start the instinctive flair for staging and composition that made him one of the great directors of mid-century American cinema.

Presented in 35mm courtesy of Universal Pictures.