You know when a town is named after a lizard, something reptilian is in the offing. And so it is with Chuckawalla, Nevada, several acres of scrub desert with a gambling casino, the destination for fast Eddie (John Hodiak) and his gunsel, Johnny (Wendell Corey). Throw in Burt Lancaster as the local sheriff and Lizabeth Scott as a disillusioned coed, and you have the makings for another desert storm. A film noir in living color, Corey’s debut has him playing a cold-blooded thug who’s pathologically attached to his card-shuffling partner. Saurian-like, with sappy eyes, he only warms up when the sun is down.