In their first of five films together, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas portray a pair of bootleggers who agree to split their accumulated proceeds down the middle no matter what. But when Burt is released after serving a 14-year prison stretch, a now respectable Kirk, who is set up in the rackets with a swanky nightclub, isn’t inclined to honor their agreement. Complicating matters is an alluring nightclub chanteuse (Lizabeth Scott) and Burt’s former crony (Wendell Corey) who is under Kirk’s thumb. With a colorful supporting cast and a rousing Victor Young score, this hardboiled melodrama, adapted from the play Beggars are Coming to Town, established Hal Wallis’ credentials as an independent producer of consequence at Paramount after decades of success at Warner Bros.