Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Hattie 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.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Marco Segundo I had fairly low expectations going into this one, but the film quickly churns into full noir-ish life as one of the last of what was to be a dying breed of movie--a psychological thriller pulling us close to the world of the always fascinating Alan Ladd as he runs head on into forces beyond his control. (I disagree that Ladd's personal problems detract from his performance at all. In fact to me the intentional darkness of the mood is simply strengthened by Ladd just as he was able to do in a dozen other gripping dramas both large and small. This is a "small" drama, to be sure, but none the less intense and intriguing.A plot theme emerges here treated the way a great noir director of the 40's might have treated it--pathological youth violence, a real social problem often glossed over {Rebel Without A Cause, for example) or in later 1960's films glamorized and turned into the iconic images for a new generation.But here it is--stark, vicious, mindless, and cruel just because people can get away with it. This is a brave and unflinching film and a real treat for those who appreciate the genre. Keep your expectations modest and it will surprise you quite happily!

MartinHafer As Alan Ladd's last starring role, this was a pretty good way to finish his all-too-short career. While it's not the best thing he ever did, it is one of his better films. Unfortunately, for me, a real fan of Ladd, it's also a bit tough to watch because he's obviously suffering the effects of advanced alcoholism--with a puffy look about him and slightly slurred speech. In addition, at times his performance was a bit limp--though at other times, particularly at the end, he was able to rouse some of that old Alan Ladd energy and anger.The film is about a decent man who through no fault of his own is badly beaten by a group of young spoiled rich thugs. The problem is that the information on who did this was scant so catching the thugs looked uncertain. Plus Ladd had a lot of trouble getting on with his life--particularly when members of this little gang began threatening him and his wife. From that point on, Ladd is a bit like Captain Ahab--with an almost incessant need to find and punish the teens. Surprisingly, Rod Steiger underplays the role of a decent detective who is investigating the case (he sometimes seemed to overact in some films--here he was perfect). He's trying his best to find the boys AND keep Ladd from getting himself in trouble for being a vigilante.Add to this basic plot decent acting, a very good and suspenseful script as well as a very adult plot for 1962 and you've got the formula for a very good drama--far better than many of the mediocre films Ladd had been making through much of the 1950s and 60s.

moonspinner55 Alan Ladd, in his second-to-last film, plays some sort of scientist in Los Angeles who manages to run out of gas...in his car alone...at night in a bad neighborhood. A pack of country club teenagers in a souped-up car jump him and bust a couple of ribs, bringing Rod Steiger's detective ("Juvenile Division") into the picture, but Ladd can't wait for the slow arm of the law to bring him justice and looks for the boys on his own. Adaptation of Leigh Brackett's novel "The Tiger Among Us" (a better title!), the movie is a bit overwrought and wild-eyed, though the mechanics of the story are gripping, if utterly unpleasant. Steiger looks a little sheepish here and is disappointing, but Ladd's non-present performance is the real shame; his face puffy and jowly, his lips thin, Ladd is barely even alert. He has a fairly intense role here, but the fading actor just walks through it. Some of the details about the case are very interesting (particularly the wealthy kids involved, and how they relate to their indifferent parents), but the promising set-up for the plot is let down by all the overripe melodrama. Still, a curious, watchable attempt at delinquent terrors, perhaps a precursor to "Death Wish". ** from ****

John Seal This is an above average programmer that benefits from decent, if predictable, performances by Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger. Ladd is a rocket scientist who gets mugged on the way home from a late night at the office by a roving band of Beverly Hills punks led by Michael Callan. What follows could be considered Death Wish 1962, as Ladd pursues the villains whilst police officer Steiger tries to keep him under control. Good photography by Charles Lawton Jr. and a reasonably interesting George Duning score make this one to watch on a cold winter's night.