The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Momentum is a formal choice.”
The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.
Back to trending 
Conflict
Thriller · 1945
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
Movie details
Conflict
“SUSPENSE...SUSPICION...MAN-WOMAN DESIRES!”
1945 Thriller 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Conflict?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Hollow Triumph
Thriller · 1948
Pursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity—with unfortunate results.
Nightfall
Crime · 1956
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Hostile Takeover
Action · 2025
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Pickup on South Street
Thriller · 1953
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Overdrive
Thriller · 2017
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Double Indemnity
Crime · 1944
An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.
The Glass Key
Crime · 1942
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
The Naked City
Crime · 1948
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
The Mirror Crack'd
Mystery · 1980
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
A Kiss Before Dying
Thriller · 1956
A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Curtis Bernhardt
Written by
Arthur T. Horman · Dwight Taylor
Humphrey Bogart
Richard Mason
Alexis Smith
Evelyn Turner
Sydney Greenstreet
Mark Hamilton
Rose Hobart
Kathryn Mason
Charles Drake
Norman Holsworth
Grant Mitchell
Dr. Grant
Patrick O'Moore
Egan
Court is in session
Put Conflict on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Sentimental Softie
“Speed as an alibi.”
The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.