I had never heard of Director William C. Thomas but now that I have, I doubt I will be interested in watching any of his other work. True, this is supposed to be a B film noir, but it looks more like C/home movie financing, shot for the most part in complete darkness, and with a male lead who looks like the harmless fellow next door who can't act to save his life and allows himself to become a punching bag for some thugs who rate in equal measure bestial and dumb.
Add to the mix a police duo who seem to be missing the third stooge, and you can see a failed comedy in the making, all the more so in all the abovementioned darkness which does not allow you to see exactly what Lowery is doing replacing LPs in the jukebox. Ah, I finally got it: the jukebox was also a recording device! And the stooge cops wanted to listen to music so they heard the criminals' telltale chat.
Very ingenious. No wonder THEY MADE ME A KILLER had five people involved in knocking together a screenplay for a 64-minute C pic that borrows shamelessly from Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS.
Poor direction, cliché-riddled script, and substandard, very cheap cinematography blends with low grade acting to come up with a mediocre - putting it mildly - product. One saving grace: beautiful Barbara Britton. Her character obviously loves Lowery's come hell or high water, whether he lies, wears cuffs, gets punched up, or does anything devious enough to make a lesser woman flee. Not she - what a loyal, faithful and loving woman!
Pity reality is so different!
Don't waste your time on this one: you'll end up with sore eyes from straining to try to discern what's happening in the dark. And, trust me, what happens in the dark isn't enough to wake you up, if you predictably fall asleep, as happened to me. It took me three nights to watch to the end this 64' film.
