Poor mechanic Rooney borrows twenty bucks from the till to take a floozy out on a date, and things go downhill from there.

Neat little noir with strong performances from Rooney and Cagney. Falls short of greatness, mainly because every move Rooney makes is so boneheaded as to be unbelievable except as an extreme case of social Darwinism. The sappy happy ending is also a big letdown.

Easy to interpret Rooney's character as a down on his luck Andy Hardy, unable to cope with life in the real world outside cozy Carvel life and the protection of the Judge. And this is what makes it one of his best films.