one of my absolute favorites!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Thomas Mitchell (Foster) wants to run for Governor and rid the town of corruption, but corrupt Fred Clark (Faulkner) stands in his way. Enter Ray Milland (Nick Beal). Milland can offer Mitchell what he needs to take power.Tony Blair's PR spin-doctor Alastair Campbell is obviously the inspiration for this film. Milland plays the role of domineering adviser to Thomas Mitchell, and Milland gets his way. The cast are all good in this film, with fallen girl Audrey Totter (Donna) getting a special mention – she is funny, intuitive and tragic all at the same time. I thought the film was a bit talky at the beginning but it does seem necessary in order to set the scene. And there certainly is an air of mystery when Milland appears. There are various good scenes, my favourite being when Totter ends up speaking the dialogue that she has just rehearsed with Milland. At first she dismisses Milland for talking nonsense, but there comes a moment when she is with Mitchell and she realizes what is happening. Some of the rehearsed dialogue did not make sense to her when first repeated. But it all fits now. It's well acted and directed and it's the most memorably chilling moment for me. Good direction, effective camera shots and a good music score round out the other film highlights.So, if you fancy running for any kind of position of power in the political arena, just remember to carry a bible with you……..or there may be trouble.

It is a pity that the young audience should remember Ray Milland as the nasty father in "love story" whereas he made more classics than the lovers of this soap opera:" lost weekend " "dial M for murder" "the major and the minor" "ministry of fear" and of course" the big clock" ,a good thriller by John Farrow;the list is long."Alias Beal" is also a Farrow's winner .It was not the first time a man had sold his soul to the devil but it was perhaps the first he had got the subject mixed up with politics,a quarter of century before "the omen" .Milland's restrained performance predates De Niro's in "Angel Heart" by almost forty years.Certain aspects of "Devil's advocate "(1997) are also present.The female character is not very interesting ,but Ray Milland and Charles Laughton easily make up for it.

A super triple-plus cheer for the 1949 "Alias Nick Beal"! Director John Farrow told me this was his favorite film. "Everything came out right for once! Every scene was played, set, photographed and edited exactly the way I wanted it." And Ray Milland told me the same thing. "Alias Nick Beal!" he exclaimed. "I loved that movie!" And so right they were both were! Admittedly, I told Farrow I preferred "The Big Clock" as his finest achievement, but "Nick Beal" is definitely number two. Milland is perfect in the title role, and Totter almost equally wonderful as the floozy, but Macready had a far more winning role in the earlier film and Thomas Mitchell is no match at all for Charles Laughton. However, as superbly photographed by Lionel Lindon (who worked with Farrow again on the far less interesting "Submarine Command"), this movie definitely still comes across as a rivetingly atmospheric, film noir masterpiece.

I saw this film in 1949 at the tender age of 15. Ray Milland had hair then. Don't remember the dialog, or maybe this was the one which only had a music track and no dialog. Ray had the POWER over women, all right! It was VERY good, and I keep watching the movie channels, hoping it will be shown some night. With all the turkeys they run (and re, rerun), it would be welcome and refreshing. I'm tired of "Midway" and "In Harm's Way" every week. John W. Hall