This is one of the best films noirs, which is my favorite genre. They seldom get any darker than this, and there have been few dupes as colossallay duped as Edward G. Robinson.

We first meet Chris (Robinson) when he is the guest of honor at his boss' mansion. He has put in 40 years of dedicated service, and in return he gets a damned watch. He's happy, though, because he is like a big puppy, always wanting to please people. His wife, Adele (Margaret Lindsay), is a shrew who constantly reminds him that he's not as much of a man as her ex, a cop who died while trying to save a drowning woman. On the way home from his party, he sees a woman and man fighting. When the man hits her, Chris runs to rescue the woman, probably the most impulsive thing he's ever done. She turns out to be Katherine (Joan Bennett), a struggling actress. The cad was Johnny (Dan Duryea), her boyfriend/pimp. Chris and Katherine have dinner, and Chris falls in love.

Chris devotes his life to Katherine, and she uses him. He is an amateur painter, and one day Johnny, who is still very much a part of her life, steals some of his paintings to sell. An art critic sees them and tracks Johnny down. Johnny, seeing an opportunity, tells the critic that Katherine painted them, and she goes along with the lie. Instead of being upset when he finds out, Chris agrees to let her steal from him, as long as he doesn't have to be alone.

This sets up a surprising series of events which culminate in a reunion, a murder, and an execution. The ending, where echoes from the past haunt Chris to the point of madness, poignantly argues that one's conscience is a far worse punishment than anything the state can hand out.

This is among the most depressing films I have ever seen. Film noir is full of hopeless, hapless slobs who give in to their base desires and pay the ultimate price. Seldom, however, has a fall guy deserved it less. Fritz Lang is kind of a depressing guy with a bleak opinion of human nature. This film, with its haunting ending (in more ways than one), takes the cake.