Shades of 1948's "The Big Clock"! Reporters on an East Coast newspaper diligently attempt to find the killer of a middle-aged, female "lonely heart" who was found murdered in her bath...but the culprit may be closer to them than they think! This must have been an embarrassment for John Derek, playing one of those cocky young journalists who keeps turning away crucial evidence out of sheer inexperience...and who doesn't even believe a witness who exposes the killer right in front of him! Donna Reed, as a writer with ethics, comes off somewhat better, while sweaty editor Broderick Crawford (looking more like Fred Flintstone than ever) goes a bit overboard with the tight grimaces and steely-eyed glares. Still, not all bad; the noir-styled cinematography is excellent, and the script, adapted from Samuel Fuller's novel "The Dark Page", is quite absorbing despite so many familiar ingredients. **1/2 from ****