The Swordsman (1948) Joseph H. Lewis, Larry Parks, Ellen Drew, George Macready

Since he was a child, Bart Tare has always loved guns. After leaving the army, his friends take him to a carnival, where he meets the perfect girl, Annie, a sharp-shooting sideshow performer who loves guns as much as he. The two run off and marry, but Annie isn't happy with their financial situation, so at her behest the couple begins a crosscountry string of daring robberies. Never one to use guns for killing, Bart is dragged down into oblivion by the greedy and violent nature of the woman he loves.

Detective Leonard Diamond's (Wilde) efforts to bring down mob Kingpin Mr. Brown (Conte) border on obsession. Leonard is equally driven to win the affections of Brown's girlfriend, classy blonde Susan Lowell (Wallace), who is physically attracted to the dynamic, aggressive Brown even as she suspects him of terrible crimes. After reprimands for overspending from his superiors, Diamond threatens and cajoles previous Brown associates into yielding information about Brown's first wife, who he may have murdered. But Brown's hit men Fante (Cleef) & Mingo (Holliman) remove all of these witnesses as soon as Diamond uncovers them. Caught in the middle, Susan attempts suicide. Brown retaliates by setting his executioners on the scent of Diamond himself, which puts the detective's sometime girlfriend Rita (Stanton) in jeopardy. Finally gaining Susan's aid, Diamond forces a confrontation with his underworld nemesis.