Made with limited resources, this tightly plotted caper film is gripping and memorable for introducing an ingenious trick into the world of noir: Foster has his men hide their faces with masks so none of them can identify each other. (Decades later, Tarantino adapted this plot point for "Reservoir Dogs.") Under Karlson's direction, Payne is solid and Coleen Gray alluring as his gal, but it's the mean, malevolent turns by Foster, Lee Van Cleef, Neville Brand, and Jack Elam that make "Confidential" so diabolically good.