Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Lack of good storyline.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Ralph Wyatt, a veteran with a outstanding World War II service record escapes from a mental institution to go and see his wife who divorced him. Soon thereafter, his harridan of an ex is murdered by her lover. We know from the get go who the murderer is (Paul Picerni as Roper) but Roper tries to put the blame on Wyatt. Bill Elliott portrays Sheriff's Department Lt. Andy Flynn as a dour, humorless detective who interestingly is also smart, non-judgmental and does not jump to conclusions nor is he corrupt. I only knew Paul Picerni from "The Untouchables" so I wasn't use to seeing him as a bad guy and he did a fine job. Elliott did a good job but his character isn't particularly memorable even though likable. An okay detective story worth the hour it takes to watch it.

Keith Larsen is Ralph Wyatt, an emotionally exhausted soldier recovering from the war and from the news that his trampy wife (Helene Stanley) has just obtained a divorce. He manages to escape from the military mental hospital where he is recovering to confront her. No sooner has he arrived in the neighborhood where she lives then he's arrested for her murder, and protesting his innocence, he desperately tries to get out of his holding cell in the local jail. This familiar tale of adultery leading to murder has been told in many different ways, but this (the first of a short-lived series starring Bill Elliott as a tough Hollywood cop) is told with a very fascinating narrative.While the "B" western star Elliott is top billed, it is Larsen's intense performance that draws center attention here. He adds touches of sanity and insanity to his characterization so you can understand why he is institutionalized, yet you know he knows reality from his frenzied brain. Stanley is fascinating as his trashy wife, amoral to the maximum, and determined to hold onto her married lover (a very good Paul Picerni) who just happens to be an old army buddy of Larsen's. Jack Kruschen is also excellent as the lascivious next door neighbor who makes his lust towards Stanley very clear even though they have no scenes together.There are a lot of little details to keep an eye out for in this low-budget feature which is perhaps a bit too racy for 1955 television audiences, explaining its theatrical release. It is also obvious that Stanley is the one who seems to deserve to be in the mental institution more than her husband, and the scenes leading up to her demise are reminiscent of the 1980's sexual thriller explosion with films such as "Fatal Attraction" and the later "Basic Instinct". The cops here are presented as real human beings who take their jobs seriously, and are not the typical tough-talking movie law enforcement officers with muscles of steel yet brains of plastic.

I took a look at Wild Bill Elliott's credits and the last time he was in modern dress for a movie before Dial Red O was in a small role as a bootlegger in The Roaring Twenties. My guess his popularity as a western star was on the decline as the films he made were now being done in television series. I'm surprised Elliott never went into the small screen to continue as a western star. Also he dropped the 'Wild' in his screen billing, that seemed to not fit now that he was playing a police lieutenant in modern dress.In Dial Red O we are introduced to Elliott's new character of Lieutenant Andy Flynn of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The case he catches in this film is the murder of Helene Stanley who is the good time wife of Marine veteran Keith Larsen. Larsen is doing a stay in the Psychiatric Ward of the Veteran's Hospital as things haven't been going so well with him.That's not stopping Stanley from spending his money and having a good time with Larsen's old friend from the Corps Paul Picerni. A little too much pressure going both ways and Stanley winds up dead.We know Picerni did it, the suspense is whether Elliott and Larsen can put it together. An offhand remark by law enforcement tells Larsen who the murderer is. Dial Red O is one no frills production. Allied Artists obviously had a contract commitment to Elliott and they wanted to see how the public would take to him out of his boots and in a squad car not on a horse. It's all right, but again nothing you couldn't see on television.

After retiring from the Western screen, Wild Bill Elliott made five hard-boiled police films at Allied Artists, this being the first of them. Elliott plays Andy Flynn/Doyle (the name changes after this one, but it's the same character), a detective for the LA sheriff's office. Elliott's stoic, brooding style is well-suited to crime films, and I'm sorry he did not make more. I've seen four of this group of five, and every one is a solid piece of work. They play very much like a grittier version of the many crime TV shows of the 1950s, and in the post-Dragnet era there is an emphasis on the step-by-step procedures used in investigating a case. Keith Larsen plays a WWII/Korea war hero who has not adapted well to the civilian world and is under psychological treatment; Helene Stanley chews the scenery as his party-girl ex-wife (her scene where she announces to her boyfriend why they "have to" get married is a classic!); Paul Picerni is the smarmy, suspicious friend of Larsen and great and good friend of Stanley. Former Columbia/Monogram regular Rick Vallin is put to good use as a police officer guarding Larsen after he is arrested. No big surprises here--the film simply delivers what it promises to: suspense, action, twists, a nice hard-boiled ambiance, AND Wild Bill Elliott. That's enough for me. While most of the film is shot on small, cheap sets, there are some good location shots of LA circa 1955 that help to give the film atmosphere. Finally, the scenes set in bars and lounges feature excellent West Coast Jazz from Shorty Rogers and his Giants, although if the band is seen, it must be just for a few moments as I went out of the room twice to get a soda and I didn't actually SEE Rogers on stage at all, just heard his music...perhaps I missed him during one of my soda expeditions. DIAL RED "O" is recommended to fans of 1950s b-crime films, if you can find it! (see my review of CHAIN OF EVIDENCE, another film in this series)