Railroaded!

Combining elements of crime drama, police procedural, Ellroy-esque love triangle and wronged-man social tragedy, this superb 1947 crime thriller from Western legend Anthony Mann sets up a handful of unforgettable central characters: Duke Martin (John Ireland), the dirty rat who shoots a cop during a bookie heist; Clara Calhoun (Jane Randolph), the platinum blonde ice maiden who helps him do it; Mickey Ferguson (Hugh Beaumont), the upstanding cop hot on their trail, and Rosie Ryan (Sheila Ryan), the good girl who gets in too deep when she tries to exonerate her brother, framed for the killing.

The movie is brilliantly paced, superbly acted and packed with bruising one-liners. Mann would go on to bigger and – arguably – better things, but his key themes are already in evidence here: masculine fallibility, misdirected intelligence and the human urge to violence. A fascinating rediscovery.