The Clay Pigeon (1949)

Two years after being injured in a Japanese prison camp, an amnesia victim (Bill Williams) awakens from a coma to find he's accused of treason. Escaping from the hospital, he is determined to prove his innocence. Written by Carl Foreman (HIGH NOON) and directed by Richard Fleischer (THE NARROW MARGIN). The use of amnesia in film noir is a fairly common trope. Films like THE BLUE DAHLIA, SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT, THE LONG WAIT among them. This little B programmer is one of the lesser ones and in spite of its far fetched narrative, Fleischer's taut direction helps it move along quickly so that you have very little time to ponder its implausibility. The cast is rather bland and Bill Williams's character comes across as a bully and a thug rather than an innocent man unjustly accused. The identity of the real culprit is never in doubt so there's not much suspense. With Barbara Hale, Martha Hyer, Richard Quine (who would go on to become a major director with films like BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE), Richard Loo, Robert Bray and Marya Marco.