The Thief

The Thief is a 1952 American black-and-white Cold War film noir spy film, directed by Russell Rouse and starring Ray Milland. It's the third in a series of six classic film noir productions scripted by Rouse and his writing partner Clarence Greene. The film is unusual because there is no principal actor dialogue spoken. The principal characters are not "fleshed-out", as they might be in a more conventional film, as this film is more about "trade-craft", not as much about the principal characters and their respective personalities. Not withstanding that observation, the film certainly depends upon the exceptionally strong dramatic performance by Ray Milland, and the equally strong music performance by composer/conductor Herschel Burke Gilbert. The film is nearly fully orchestrated by Gilbert.