Shoot to Kill

Edmund MacDonald wants to be the district attorney. It's not for love of the city or the law, but an opportunity to squeeze people for money. He sends mobster Robert Kent to prison, but Kent escapes and vanishes, and a crime wave begins. MacDonald's wife and secretary, Luana Walters gains information on what is going on. She cannot act overtly, because a wife cannot testify against her husband, but she can pass the word onto Robert Wade and let him investigate.

It's an intriguing idea for a film noir, but the script isn't up to it: it's confusingly written, with twists pulled seemingly out of nowhere to explain why someone is suddenly acting differently.

What director William Berke can do about it is to give cinematographer Benjamin Kline his head, and Kline produces a heck of a visual feast, lots of dark streets and low-lit actors that lend a beautiful gloss to the movie. It's not enough to save it. However, it makes it worth watching.