Murder is My Beat works the 'woman accused' noir plotline. Second-string leading man Paul Langton comes off rather well as a slightly weary seen-it-all cop who falls for a dame done wrong. Barbara Payton appears appropriately dejected and defeated at all times, an image that would seem to come naturally. Her personal problems seem to hang over the film like a dark cloud. The Aubrey Wisberg screenplay sets up a good mystery situation but allows the final acts to dawdle too much before the abbreviated wrap-up. Payton isn't given very much screen time. The two cops do a lot of talking in a dull motel room, discussing what has happened and what they ought to do next.
All in all, it's a far cry from DETOUR (or RUTHLESS)...
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