It was written by Steve Fisher and Oliver H. The investigation leads Murdock to his friend's mistress, a mysterious woman whose husband Drake was accused of murdering. The film was originally intended to star Rita Hayworth in Scott's role as a followup to Columbia Pictures 's successful Gilda , but she refused the role over a contract dispute.
Instead, Scott was loaned out from her contract with Paramount Pictures to co-star with Bogart, who himself was loaned out for the project by Warner Bros. Filming took place in the summer of , largely on Columbia soundstages in Los Angeles, with location shoots occurring in St.
Dead Reckoning was first released theatrically in San Francisco on New Year's Eve , expanding to a wide theatrical release in January The film received mixed reviews at the time of its release.
Leaving a church, Father Logan, a well-known ex-paratrooper padre, is approached by Captain "Rip" Murdock. Murdock needs to tell someone what has happened to him in the past few days in case his enemies get to him. A flashback follows:.
When Drake learns that he is to be awarded the Medal of Honor and Murdock the Distinguished Service Cross , he disappears before newspaper photographers can take his picture. Murdock goes AWOL , follows the clues and tracks his friend to Gulf City in the southern United States , where he learns Drake is dead β his burned corpse is recovered from a car crash. Murdock finds out that Drake joined the Army under an assumed name to avoid a murder charge.
