There was something about Robert Aldrich"s artistic temperament that enabled him to transcend the apparent vulgarity of so many of his motion picutres. Besides the great films, such as Kiss Me Deadly which is certainly one of the finest examples of film noir, are several little-seen or underrated later works such as the revisionist Western, Ulzana"s Raid, the gangster love story, The Grissom Gang, or the grim cop picture, Hustle. Aldrich"s career has long deserved the detailed evaluation which this book provides. - Andrew Sarris