A noir adaptation of Clifford Odets' 1941 play of the same name about a love triangle of sadness and jealousy, in which Fritz Lang cast the energetic and unrestrained Barbara Stanwyck and the cynical Robert Ryan in the role of her lover and a projectionist at the local cinema. It is in his cabin, against the background of other projections, that their frustrations, expectations and dreams of a better life are often illuminated.