Three Steps North

An ex-con noir shot on location in postwar Italy. Frank Keeler (Lloyd Bridges) did four years in a military prison for a payroll robbery and never revealed where he hid the money. Now out, he returns to the small Italian town to recover his loot — but the cash has been moved, his old flame Elena (Lea Padovani) has questions, and the gang he double-crossed is waiting. Directed by W. Lee Wilder (Billy's brother), the film pairs Italian neorealist locations with hard-boiled American crime conventions. Released through United Artists, its copyright was not renewed; it is in the public domain in the United States.