Pushover (1954)

A cop (Fred MacMurray in full DOUBLE INDEMNITY mode) working undercover on a murder and robbery case inveigles himself  with the killer's mistress (Kim Novak)  but she sets a fire to him that goes out of control and soon they're planning on killing the boyfriend and taking the money. But, of course, everything goes horribly wrong. Based on the novels NIGHT WATCH by Thomas Walsh and RAFFERTY by William Ballinger and directed by Richard Quine (BELL BOOK AND CANDLE). When I watched this movie for the first time, I felt like I had discovered a pearl in an oyster shell. A second watch of this gripping film noir confirms my first impression that this is a wonderful suspense thriller. This was the movie that put Novak on the map and she sizzles. Pity she didn't do more femme fatale roles. MacMurray is perfect as the dupe. There's an interesting subplot about MacMurray's partner (Philip Carey) who thinks of all women as tramps and gold diggers who finds himself falling for Novak's neighbor (Dorothy Malone). Their budding relationship offers an interesting contrast to the deadly MacMurray/Novak combo. There's a solid rare score by Arthur Morton, perhaps best known as a film orchestrator rather than as a composer. With E.G. Marshall, Paul Picerni and James Anderson.