Roadblock

Gravel-voiced granite man-of-noir Charles McGraw stars in this classic flick about crime and passion, taken and shaken with a twist. McGraw plays "Honest" Joe Peters, a Los Angeles-based insurance detective gifted with a mind for graft but a soul for the straight and narrow, making him a natural at his job. It all starts to go south for Joe when a lithesome chiseler named Diane (Joan Dixon) uses him as a soft touch to take an airline for a ride. Joe falls hard for the dame, but she's shooting for the World Series and he's pitching for the bush leagues. Faster than you can spell "Walter Neff," Honest Joe is cutting a deal with local racketeer Kendall Webb (Lowell Gilmore) and laying out the greatest train heist of the 20th Century. Unfortunately for Joe, his insurance detective partner (Louis Jean Heydt) is a straight shooter and Diane's heart hides some unexpected turns.

• crime
• drama
• film
• noir