When two hit men arrive in the diner of a small town, they announce their intention to the owner of killing one of his customers - former boxer "the Swede" (Burt Lancaster). He manages to convince them that he would not be coming in that night, and so they leave to track him down. His friend, who was tied up in the diner rushes to warn him, but he does nothing - he invites the fate that we see, right from the beginning of the film. Why though? Why didn't he run? It transpires that he had a modest life insurance policy and so investigator "Reardon" (Edmond O'Brien) tries to track down the benefi... read the rest.