Two O'Clock Courage

Incongruously lighthearted early noir from Mann, involving a familiar premise (the film is actually a remake of the obscure TWO IN THE DARK [1936]) – an amnesiac finds himself the chief suspect in a murder case and, while attempting to trace his identity, he also contrives to expose the guilty party. The lead role is played by Tom Conway, not the most likely noir hero perhaps – his overall stilted performance suffers most when striving for comedy; much more natural (and appealing) is Ann Rutherford as the spirited female cabbie helping him out, even if she's just as much at odds with established genre conventions!

The plot is fairly convoluted: also involved, among others, are Lester Matthews (from THE RAVEN and WEREWOLF OF London {both 1935}), Jean Brooks (from the Val Lewton-produced THE LEOPARD MAN and THE SEVENTH VICTIM {both 1943}) and Jane Greer (soon to graduate to full-fledged femme fatale with OUT OF THE PAST [1947]); just as prominent, however, albeit merely for comic-relief purposes are a Police Inspector and a nosy reporter (who gets on his boss' nerves when he keeps changing the scoop i.e. the identity of the murderer). All in all, this emerged a pleasant and trim 66 minutes – but, clearly, a very minor footnote in the genre and the career of one of its most notable exponents.