Vicious Allie (a solid and credible performance by Johnny Seven) and laid-back Johnny G. (well played with engaging cool by Martin Brooks) are a couple of rival New York City gangsters who have known each other since childhood. After mob capo Lou Caddy gets busted by the authorities for tax evasion, Allie and Johnny G. find themselves caught up in a fierce territorial dispute over who will have exclusive control of the mob racket.

Writer/director Art Ford relates the compact and compelling story at a steady pace, makes neat use of the Greenwich Village locations, does an ace job of crafting a brooding sober mood, and states an interesting point about the bitter and lonely emotional price one must pay for being a mobster. The sound acting by the capable cast holds this picture together: Seven and Brooks both do ace work in the lead roles, with sturdy support from Carrie Radison as scheming mole Mimi, Ann Donaldson as sweet and naive aspiring writer Coffee, Woodrow Parfrey as pathetic and pretentious playwright Sidney Wells, and Anatol Winogradoff as friendly old-timer Max. Walter Holcomb's stark black and white cinematography provides a beautifully shadowy and stylish noir look. Worth a watch.