The Crooked Way (1949) is nice and humorless; it’s film noir. A war hero (John Payne) was wounded all the way into amnesia. So, back in the States, he can’t remember his criminal past, unlike his enemies. He was a bad dude, albeit his ex-wife (Ellen Drew) begins to love him again.

Directed by Robert Florey, the movie is crisp, sobering and violent. Semi-opaque cinematography? You bet; a lot of it by John Alton. Payne is a good, handsome fit for his role, as comely Drew is for hers. Sonny Tufts is a scary criminal avenger.