A reunion of Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney and Otto Preminger is a long way from Laura mostly because of the story - Andrews is a cop again, he's in love with Tierney, but Tierney doesn't have much to do; instead it's about Andrews accidentally killing a suspect after roughing him up. That's a pretty dark story but Andrews isn't so much a villain as a sympathetic anti-hero.
Unlike The Big Clock where Ray Milland had to investigate a crime he knows others will pin him for, here Andrews is looking into a murder which he did commit - so it gets repetitive, with no real complication. Tierney's father gets accused of the crime, which just means we're sitting around waiting for Andrews to go "no it was me". This needed another complication to throw things into a loop.
Andrews is very strong in a role ideal for him - tormented by his past (dad was a crook), tough, ruthless. Tierney is wasted, Gary Merrill makes an excellent crime boss.
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