A soldier runs away to avoid receiving the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate. Romance and death soon follow.
Rip Murdock and Johnny Drake are en route to Washington when Johnny disappears and then turns up dead. Rip learns that Johnny had been accused of murder and sets out to find out what he can. He falls in love with Coral whose husband Johnny is supposed to have killed.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
While recuperating in a Paris hospital after the war, Captain Rip Murdock and Sergeant Johnny Drake, who were a two person paratrooper team, are, without earlier notice, sent back immediately to Washington DC for an undisclosed reason, they unexpectedly needing to land in New York City to take the train instead to their final destination. It is on the train trip that they learn by accident that the reason for the immediacy of their return stateside is that Johnny, stemming from a report Rip wrote for his superiors, is to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, with Rip to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After learning this news, Johnny takes the first opportunity available to run off, something about the notoriety of the ceremony spooking him. After receiving an unofficial okay, Rip follows what few leads he has to locate Johnny, a former English professor, to learn why he ran off. Those leads take him to what looks to be Johnny's home town of Gulf City on the Gulf coast. He also locates Dusty, the deep voiced woman with the poor grammar about who Johnny often lovingly spoke, her real name being Coral Chandler, a widowed "Mrs." who used to be a singer at a nightclub/casino owned and operated by a gangster named Martinelli. Rip knows that whatever was going on with Johnny has to do with Martinelli and a murder rap, the primary question being which side Coral is working on, that question despite she having professed her love for Johnny.—Huggo
War heroes Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) and Johnny Drake (William Prince) are sent to Washington, D.C., by train, but are not told why. During the trip, they learn they're about to receive top honors for their service. Johnny, seemingly terrified by the publicity that awaits him, jumps off the train and later turns up dead. Suspecting foul play, Rip begins digging into his pal's past. He encounters cover-ups, threats to his own life and deadly femme fatale Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott).—maschzentertainment
After WWII, Rip Murdock's comrade in arms Johnny Drake disappears. Rip tries to track Johnny down and discovers a body burned beyond recognition that could be Johnny's. Rip discovers Johnny had been involved in a love triangle with Coral and her husband before the war. When Coral's husband was found shot to death, prime suspect Johnny disappeared by enlisting under a fake name. Rip has his hands full with the captivating Coral, the mystery of the burned body, the unsolved murder of Coral's husband, and an unfriendly mobster running the local gambling establishment.—Anonymous
Dead Reckoning begins with a bruised Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) running in and out of shadowy doorways, finally ducking into a church where he manages to tell a priest about the deep trouble he has gotten into just trying to track down his friend. As we flash back we see Captain Murdock bringing his Army pal Johnny Drake (William Prince) to Washington. On the train Johnny drops a gold pin that Murdock picks up. Murdock notices the pin from Yale University has another man's name on it. Murdock tells Johnny he will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Johnny is not happy with the news and asks questions about the publicity. On a brief stop in Philadelphia, photographers request Murdock to bring the hero to them. Murdock discovers Johnny has hopped off the train. The commanding officers order Murdock to bring Johnny back. Murdock appears to be at a dead end until he remembers the pin. Murdock calls the Yale alumni office and gets the last known address for the name on the pin. The address is in Gulf City, USA (apparently on the Gulf of Mexico). Murdock goes to the (only?) hotel in Gulf City where to his surprise he is expected. Not only has Johnny made him a reservation, Johnny left a note at the front desk for Murdock to wait in his room for him. After two days, Murdock hasn't heard from Johnny and by chance hears a police radio report of a man found burned beyond recognition in a car wreck. Fearing the worse, Murdock goes to the morgue, where he meets an inquisitive and wily local detective Lieutenant Kincaid (Charles Cane) who suspects everyone on general principles. Murdock makes up a story about filing a Missing Persons report. Kincaid shows him the John Does. The last body is from the car wreck. The body is unrecognizable, but a blob of gold was found with it. Murdock reckons that the blob is Johnny's pin. Murdock tells Kincaid nothing. Murdock goes from the morgue to the newspaper morgue and starts reading back from the day Johnny enlisted. Murdock quickly finds Johnny's photograph. The caption gives the same name as was on the Yale pin and identifies Johnny as the accused murderer of the older husband of the pretty Coral Chandler. The accused had disappeared and was the subject of a manhunt. Murdock is sure Johnny would never commit murder and recalls Johnny hadn't womanized in Europe because of a woman back home. Knowing getting involved with an unsolved murder could be dangerous, Murdock goes looking for Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott). He finds her in a club and casino operated by a mobster named Martinelli (Morris Carnovsky). Is she more than a former singer at that club? When Martinelli drugs Murdock and attempts to frame him for murder, Murdock teams up with Coral to gather more information to uncover not only who is responsible for the recent killings but also the fate of his friend Johnny and the killer of Coral's husband. As Detective Kincaid gets closer to discovering the body that has been planted to implicate Murdock, Coral becomes more intimate, and some tough decisions are made to reveal the truth.
