Joseph Losey transposed Fritz Lang's classic, about a child killer who is hunted by both the police and the mob, from Berlin to Los Angeles. The translation is faithful-to Lang, to Losey, and to Los Angeles. In a fascinating performance, David Wayne as the murderer is more recognizable and, finally, more sympathetic than Peter Lorre, and his dark, obsessive acts are mirrored by the destructive impulses of the “ordinary” Angelenos eager to lynch him. The streets play their parts well, too: this is shabby, comfortable, working-class urban L.A., where kids play on the sidewalks and trust the odd stranger to tie their shoelaces for them. Where taxi drivers, mobsters, and a blind balloon seller unite to track their prey while the cops sit around shaving and shooting the bull. Where staircases are like characters, and a carpark serves as a trial court. By the time this film about the ultimate outsider was released, Losey was blacklisted, as was screenwriter Waldo Salt.