Tad Pole . . . slicing through the brain of sociopath\killer Eddie Riccardi to turn him into altruistic Silver Star-winning Boy Scout Eddie Rice, eager to work as an unpaid operative for the LAPD. Though we never find out HOW a mob hit man made it into the U.S. military during WWII, who better to go after the likes of Hitler and Hirohito? Many viewers had trouble believing that actor John Payne--who plays the two Eddies in THE CROOKED WAY--actually would settle down with Pouty sad sack Susan (Natalie Wood) for a stepdaughter at the close of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. Sure enough, Payne quickly ditched his law books as soon as he realized that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy would not need his rather specialized legal services, and began looking for a flashier lifestyle--one with a spunkier mate, to boot. He attains both objectives in THE CROOKED WAY, with plenty of man-style fighting and a ready-made wife in Ellen Drew. If Payne needs a touch of melancholia at the close to substitute for not having Susan, he can always adopt the late Petey's feeble feline, Sampson.

Martin Teller The story, about a returning war veteran with amnesia discovering his criminal past, is remarkably similar to SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT from a few years earlier. Plotwise, it's not nearly as compelling as its predecessor. The amnesia angle really isn't exploited well and what's left is a rather uninteresting gangster story with bland characters. Decent performances from Payne, Tufts and Drew, but only Percy Helton really stands out. However, this has to be one the best-looking noirs out there, thanks once again to the talents of John Alton. Incredible shocks of bright light amidst deep shadows, unusual framing, dramatic angles, gritty locations... the entire picture is simply gorgeous, textbook noir. It's a shame that such impressive visuals aren't attached to a more engaging plot, but it's still a delight to behold.

donby-1 -- This film would seem to have all of the ingredients necessary for film noir, but I was disappointed.The plot seems to have no sense of forward motion or suspense. The screenwriter doesn't seem to know what to do with the characters. The old ploy of amnesia is used here. Then, John Payne just happens to bump into someone who knows him on his arrival at the L.A. train station ! Immediate coincidence.I also thought the ending was forced, after many dark happenings up to then.One bright spot is the performance of Sonny Tufts. I've never seen him so tough & scary. And when he is trapped, he shows many different emotions as he deals with the tense situation.I had never heard of Ellen Drew, but she is photographed here at the height of her beauty.--

Robert J. Maxwell It's another one of those inexpensive mystery/gangster movies about an amnesic veteran who returns from the war and tries to recover his identity or, if he still has his memory, tries to figure out what's been happening in his absence. It's all pretty veiled. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Here, it's just unexceptional.John Payne discovers in Los Angeles that he has a shady past. But what else can you expect? (He turns out to have won the Nobel Prize for Medicine?) It's really another B feature with a careless plot and performances that are in no way interesting. Want an example of an unimaginable coincidence? He's just been released from an Army hospital. The psychiatrist has advised him to go to Los Angeles where he enlisted. That's the only thing they know about him. He steps off the train in beautiful Union Station. Two men are standing around and one turns to him and says, "Hey, Eddy!" A few minutes later he leaves them to make a phone call. He's spotted from across the street by his wife, who just happens to be at that particular point in space and time.Sonny Tufts is the most interesting performer in the picture. He usually is. He wears his debauchery on his face as if flying a flag. "Wow, have I been a bad boy!" I didn't find it worth sitting through. If I wanted a decent amnesia movie, I'd watch "The Bourne Identity" again. Someone else might enjoy it more. Judging from the user ratings, someone has.