The renowned cult director Sam Fuller was a former newspaperman and front-line infantryman in World War II - his style is described by the Virgin International Encyclopaedia of Film as characterized by ‘shrill anti-Communism, a protagonist who is a borderline psychopath, film noir sensibilities, bursts of graphic violence, unapologetic sentimentality, and fluid almost athletic camerawork’, along with a 'concern for identity, whether racial or national.’ Phew! O boy!