Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.
Nominated for 4 Oscars. 3 wins & 4 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
As mere movie melodrama, pieced out as a mystery which is patiently unfolded by a sleuthing insurance man, it makes a diverting picture.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
It's one of the great films of disenchantment.
– Wally Hammond,
Time Out,
7 Feb 2008
fresh:
An example of film noir at its most expressive.
– Don Druker,
Chicago Reader,
8 Apr 2008
fresh:
Taken from Ernest Hemingway's story of the same title, picture is a hard-hitting example of forthright melodrama in the best Hemingway style. Performances without exception are top quality.