One amusing note, the actor who plays "Horace Vendig" (Zachary Scott's character) as an adolescent is Bobby Amderson who also played George Bailey as a youth in "It's a Wonderful Life."
Edgar Ulmer was working for Eagle-Lion Studios ("Sic Pro Optima") on this production and found himself with a better than average cast and crew. Eagle-Lion was not a top shelf studio, but this would probably rate as an "A-" quality production.
When Ulmer was interviewed late in life, I always felt sorry for him because so many of his cheapies were pure derivatives to the point where the director would state "That was my 'Citizen Kane'" when speaking of "Ruthless" or "That was my 'Casablanca'" when talking about "Club Havana."
The plot is passably good, but does slip a trifle when it comes to Zachary Scott's romantic interests. Diana Lynn plays both of his true loves: the girl that he left behind while climbing to the top and her doppelganger that he meets years later.
The film does deserve to be better known and should be screened at festivals.
Dan
Responses