— The monkey is never dead, Dealer. The monkey never dies. When you kick him off, he just hides in a corner. Waiting for his turn.

By breaking taboos, this was real shot in the arm stuff for Hollywood, breaking further ground with a (literally) unheard of jazz soundtrack […]. Brilliant, risk-taking cinema. — Jay Richardson

This movie was quite controversial for its day due to its explicit depiction of drug addiction. The lack of adult language, as well as the overly dramatic score that seems to play nearly continuously throughout the movie, does give it a dated feel today but it remains an interesting watch with a fairly compelling story […]. Not surprisingly, its script seems horribly dated now but the powerful central performance by Frank Sinatra still keeps your interest. — Patrick Nash