In this exceptional film noir from RKO, George Raft stars as Joe Warner, a police detective who becomes totally obsessed with solving the mysterious death of a songwriter, Keith Vincent (Edward Ashley), who used women and then dumped them like cheap trash. He nicknamed each of his girlfriends "Dolores" and has a gallery of pictures of his past loves. The police are convinced that Vincent's death was suicide, but Joe isn't convinced, and he sets out to prove that Keith was murdered. It proves to be much harder than he anticipated because he has to research each "Dolores" (he doesn't know their real names initially) and find out which one had the best motive for ending the womanizer's life.

Eventually the police department gets fed up with Joe's quest for the murderer which they feel doesn't even exist and they kick him off the force. Even that doesn't slow him down for long, and he finally narrows the list of suspects down and by then the killer results to more desperate measures to cover his tracks. The ending is of course predictable, but there are plenty of suspenseful scenes and loads of snappy dialogue, as well as a very funny performance from Mabel Paige, who plays his detective-wannabe mother. Plus, several actresses (Myrna Dell, Lynn Bari, and Virginia Huston add considerable talent to this well-crafted crime drama from the golden years of noir. Highly recommended.

This moody 1946 film noir stars George Raft as a detective assigned to solve the murder of a musical gigolo who finally met a woman who wouldn't sit still for his standard dismissal. His character becomes entranced with solving the case, so much so that he risks his job and life to go on even after the department suggests he end his involvement. Lynn Bari provides zip as a brassy dame suspected of being one of the victim's "Doloreses", the name his houseboy says he called each one of his mistresses regardless of her given name. Swinging night clubs, dark stormy nights, hard boiled police work and a cast of lesser named but very effective players make this movie a must see. Unfortunately the film is out of distribution currently but this viewer (whose children inadvertently erased our only copy!) continues to search for either a print for sale or a classic movie channel screening. Look for a scene of great tension and foreboding in a closed photographic studio as evidence that this little suspenser is a hidden gem.