I have been in love with sexy Tom Pittman for many years. and sad that he died too young at 26..his acting was for sure going places..This is very beyond B movie..typical of the times to teach young kids to walk a straight line..like the ever so dull Dragnet series..today we all laugh at these and very lucky to laugh and not have to live in frame of thinking..this is a great movie to watch on a Sunday night with your lover or friend.God bless you Tom, hope i find a guy like you.

Tom Pittman was last seen at a Halloween party on October 31, 1958. He had a wreck on the highway driving through Benedict canyon. His body was not found until 3 weeks later on November 20th. This movie was released the next year.

He had a very successful carreer over the 2 short years that he worked as an actor. He appeared in dozens of roles.

This is a film noir classic. I don't know why it's in the public domain, but I'm not complaining - I'll gladly watch it again...and again. Perhaps a bit over the top (everything that can go wrong does), but having grown up in the '50's era, I saw firsthand the post war alcoholism, insinuation of organized crime onto main street, and formation of the wolfpack teen gangs (quite often with a "she-wolf" like Betty as leader), so overall I find this movie painfully close to realism.
Perhaps many younger than me don't realize that before about 1967 or so only rich kids and those on the GI bill went to college; there were very few scholarships and no government loans. Marvin's future was in his father's face, and he knew that was the way it would be unless he changed his world. A near random event gives him an opportunity to change that world, and he goes for it.

Marvin made dumb mistakes. No surprise here - show me a hormone enriched 18 year old male that doesn't. Again, his inability to keep his mouth shut merely enriches the realism. The only real plot flaw I see is the willingness of the two professionals to allow a novice to be the mastermind of the caper.

I understand MST did a hack of this movie. I've never seen it; so it has not influenced my opinion.

This is a wonderfully directed, edited and acted movie. All associated with its production should be proud of it. 9/10

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there had been a rash of spontaneous suicides, some right in the theater, among moviegoers who chose to see this film. I mean, 'crime doesn't pay' is a standard theme still in use by moviemakers, but did every scene of this film before, during, and after high school nerd Marv goes bad have to be so depressing? Yeech!