James Stewart doesn't always convince as the investigating reporter trying to clear Richard Conte of a murder he didn't commit, but the growing sense of injustice carries you along in this crime drama based on a real-life story. With producer Louis de Rochemont (who made his name with The March of Time newsreels), director Henry Hathaway had forged a new style of gritty movie-making. In a series that started with 1945's The House on 92nd Street, they reconstructed true stories with a realism and attention to the details of police procedure that made them seem more like documentaries than thrillers. The technique soon became clichéd and this is the last picture in the cycle that still works as a vibrant and crusading piece of film-making.

In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.