the audience applauded

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A quick hour flies by in this action packed but predictable crime drama of illegal goings on behind the scenes of the world of prize- fighting. This ain't no set-up (either the 1948 movie or the literal definition), and there are few, if any surprises. Reporter Stanley Clements is trying to get the scoop on the racket which lead to the murder of another reporter and his own attack with threats attached. A subplot has Veda Ann Borg as the good-hearted gangster's moll out to protect her brother, a college basketball hero. Briskly paced, it features clinched dialog and mostly one dimensional characters (lead by Ted de Corsia as the villainous "Mr. Big") with Borg standing out as the tough talker who is a real pussycat when it comes to protecting her brother (Scotty Beckett). Gloria Henry plays the stereotypical nice girl, a hard-working newspaper secretary with a romantic interest in the gung-ho Clements. Being released by Allied Artists, this reminds me of a Bowery Boys movie with all of the malapropisms removed, containing only minor member Clements in this one, which basically leaves it to be ultra predictable. Veteran T.V. character actress Maudie Prickett gets a nice little cameo (unbilled) as one of the witnesses to a horrific crime carried out by the bad guys. So this is a tolerable minor programmer where the news ain't really so hot, but it isn't icy cold either.