What a pleasant surprise this was! A suspenseful, finely-crafted police procedural/noir with a solid cast, including a wonderful turn by Elsa Lanchester (the one and only Bride of Frankenstein) as a kooky, greedy landlady who reaps what she sows. Gorgeous cinematography by John Alton. This should be on more than one list.

This is a tight little movie, great cinematography, good performances, nice message about the early use of science in mainstream detective work.

Elsa Lanchester is always a pleasure to watch when she is doing her wacky best. Ricardo Montalbon was a surprise for me in this role: he was great. Good movie.