Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning follows two paratroopers returning from the Second World War. Rip Murdock and Johnny Drake are on their way to Washington to be decorated for their service when Johnny, apparently alarmed by the publicity awaiting them, disappears from the train. He later turns up dead, and Rip, convinced his friend was murdered, begins looking into the past Johnny had kept hidden. The trail leads to Gulf City, where Johnny had lived under a false identity, and to Coral Chandler, the widow of a wealthy man named Chandler. Rip finds himself drawn to her even as he uncovers secrets about his friend, and his investigation brings threats, deception and further violence.

The film was directed by John Cromwell, its place in his career coming after Algiers in 1938 and before Caged in 1950. Humphrey Bogart plays Rip Murdock, with Lizabeth Scott as Coral Chandler and Morris Carnovsky, Charles Cane, William Prince and Marvin Miller among the credited cast of twenty-two. Steve Fisher and Oliver H.P. Garrett wrote the screenplay, and Sidney Biddell produced it for Columbia Pictures.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from roughly 9,900 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.9 out of 10 from 162 votes. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 11 reviews places it somewhat below the audience scores.