Alfred Hitchcock uses a real-life story as inspiration for this thriller. Henry Fonda stars as a down-on-his-luck musician wrongfully branded a criminal when he tries to convert his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy into cash to pay for medical debts. Cops think he's an elusive robber who has finally landed in their clutches, and he must fight to the end to clear his name. But he finds a world that seems not to care about his plight.