In Dead Reckoning, Rip Murdock (
Humphrey Bogart) recites the film's plotline to a priest in the confessional. Murdock and Johnny Drake (
William Prince) are Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, en route to Washington by train. Drake hops off and disappears, leading Murdock on a hectic manhunt. Upon meeting Drake's former girlfriend Coral Chandler (
Lizabeth Scott), Murdock is thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue involving a crooked gambler (
Morris Carnovsky) and a complex blackmailing scheme. The upshot of this is that Murdock finds himself the prime suspect in a murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide