Peter Lorre has never exploited his sensitive face to more heartbreaking ends than in this tragic noir about a recently arrived immigrant watchmaker who turns to a life of crime after severe facial burns leave him unemployed and unloved, alone in the world with only his nocturnal friend Dinky to keep him company. When a blind girl-yes, MELODRAMA!-falls for him, he tries to sneak back out of the criminal underworld and into a redeeming love nest. The script has fresh twists galore, and no false moves, in its remarkable sixty-nine minutes.