 Film and theatre historian <unk> <unk> has identified The <unk> as one of a handful of films from the early 1960s that re @-@ defined the relationship of films to their audiences . This new relationship , he writes , is " one of challenge rather than <unk> , of doubt rather than certainty . " No film of the 1950s , <unk> asserts , " took such a brutal , clear look at the ego @-@ affirmation of the one @-@ on @-@ one contest , at the <unk> of the winner or the <unk> vulnerability of the loser . " Although some have suggested the resemblance of this film to classic film noir , <unk> rejects the comparison based on <unk> 's ultra @-@ realistic style , also noting that the film lacks noir 's " <unk> Woman or its <unk> in discovering crime among the <unk> , hungry bank clerks and <unk> wives . " <unk> does note that while Fast Eddie " has a slight fifties ring " , the character " makes a decisive break with the extraordinarily feeling tough guys of the ' rebel ' era ... [ b ] <unk> he does end up seeking out his emotions " and telling Bert that he is a loser because he 's dead inside . 
