Crime Wave (also known as The City Is Dark) is a 1954 American film noir starring Sterling Hayden and Gene Nelson, and directed by Andre de Toth.

[1] It was adapted from a short story which originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post - "Criminal Mark" by John and Ward Hawkins.

In the process of robbing a gasoline station for "eatin' money" a police officer is killed and one of the gang members is wounded.

He orders records searched in an effort to determine if there is an ex-con in the vicinity of the thugs' abandoned vehicle who might give them shelter.

Despite Lacy leading an exemplary life since being out of the joint, Sims feels he is a likely candidate for the escapees to seek out and has an underling call him.

The escapee has already summoned a disreputable, alcoholic former doctor now working as a veterinarian, Otto Hessler, whom both men knew in prison.

Before Hessler can call Sims to report what happened, Hastings murders him, but the killing is noisy and alerts a passer-by, who summons the police.

To ensure his compliance, Ellen is held hostage by one of the thugs, a towering lecher named Johnny Haslett, who will kill her if the robbery goes wrong.

The detective then tersely lectures Steve about how he endangered both he and his wife's lives by not informing the police about Penny and Hastings at the earliest opportunity, pointing out that the note could easily have been missed or misunderstood.

To the couple's shock and relief, Sims drops them off outside City Hall and tells them to scram for home before he changes his mind.

The final chase scene from the bank in Glendale to Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles, though edited, follows the actual route, including Brand Boulevard and the Glendale Boulevard fork on the Hyperion Viaduct, until Steve Lacey reaches the house (possibly on Maple Street, just east of Los Angeles Street in the Chinatown district) where the crazed Johnny Haslett is holding Lacey's wife.

The final scene, where Lt. Sims sends Steve and Ellen home, was shot on the 200 block of North Main Street, with Sterling Hayden leaning against the side of the City Hall Building.