Jules Dassin directs Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers in this film noir where a desperate hustler works the streets of London trying to make it big as a wrestling promoter.

Basically the original Uncut Gems. A loser swims against the tide trying to work an angle. Every time he solves a problem a new tidal wave hits him. Widmark is excellent as the grasping, gasping scumbag. We meet him on the run, he ends on the run. Soho nightlife is filmed relatively accurately on location. That world is now gone. Gene Tierney is served in small portions as the angelic good girl. Googie Withers as the sharper moll is given the best side bars.

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Perfect Double Bill: Kiss Of Death (1947)