Dead Reckoning (1947)

After his wartime buddy (William Prince) mysteriously disappears, a  paratrooper (Humphrey Bogart) visits the town where his friend last lived before the war in the hopes of finding him. After he finds out his pal has been killed, he's determined to find the murderer. Even if you've never seen DEAD RECKONING before, there's a sense of deja vu watching the film. It doesn't lessen the enjoyment of the film but it's such a by the numbers film noir that you're almost always one step ahead of the film. Not only is the situation similar to THE MALTESE FALCON in parts but even some of the dialog is paraphrased. This is the kind of tough guy roles that Bogart could do in his sleep and Lizabeth Scott as the requisite femme fatale is made to order for her role, too. Scott, never the greatest actress, isn't bad at all here. The artificiality of her acting fits nicely with her character. Definitely a second tier noir. Directed by John Cromwell (ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM). With Morris Carnovsky, George Chandler, Marvin Miller and Wallace Ford.