Kiss The Blood Off My Hands (1948)

Set in post WWII London, a former POW (Burt Lancaster) is unstable with violent tendencies. When he accidentally kills a man in a rage, he flees and breaks into the flat of a young woman (Joan Fontaine) to hide out. Thus begins the most unlikely of romances. Based on the novel by Gerard Butler (ON DANGEROUS GROUND) and directed by Norman Foster (WOMAN ON THE RUN). This slice of film noir is most unusual for the genre. There's no detective, no femme fatale, no mystery to solve and no "hero". Lancaster's angry ex-soldier had a lousy upbringing and has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon. He blames everybody else for his current state. Fontaine is a rather mousey medical assistant who is lonely. It takes awhile to get to warm up to Lancaster's character as his self pity and rage is off putting but slowly you begin to feel some empathy for him as Fontaine's gentle affection begins to redeem him. The shadowy B&W lensing of the great Russell Metty contributes to the noir-ish atmosphere and the art direction converts the Universal backlot into a credible London. With Robert Newton and Jay Novello.