Barbara Stanwyck dominates the screen as a coldly ruthless industrial heiress whose passion is reignited by the return of a childhood flame with whom she shares a terrible secret. When Sam Masterson (Van Heflin) returns to his hometown, now controlled by Stanwyck and her husband, alcoholic DA Walter O’Neil (Kirk Douglas, in his film debut), his presence threatens to expose a family scandal that could ruin Iverstown. Sharply scripted by Robert Rossen and evocatively directed by Lewis Milestone, this darkly provocative film delivers a timely message about the hazards of rapacious capitalism linked to political power. Featuring a brilliant score by the great Miklós Rózsa.

35mm print courtesy of the Library of Congress