Critics Naomi Wise and Michael Goodwin once described Samuel Fuller as "anAmerican primitive whose vision directly contradicts that of GrandmaMoses." Adding U.S.A. to the title of this steely, brutal film wasno mere ploy on Fuller's part. "The big business of crime, which inearlier noirs was held responsible for all of society's ills, here issynonymous with society. Fuller's rapid, emphatic use of close-ups,dissolves, and cuts serves as a shock treatment for the Americanpublic." (Kathy Geritz) As a boy, Tolly Devlin saw his fatherbeaten to death by four punks; the adult Tolly (Cliff Robertson) vowsrevenge. In cooperation with the FBI, he infiltrates a local crime ring,playing these two rival elements of the crime world against each other(allowing Fuller, like Lang, to point out some touchy links betweenthem). Tolly demonstrates a vigilante passion that equals-and thensurpasses-the violence of his enemies.