There’s an early scene in Martin Frič’s 13. revir (US: Guard 13) in which a just released convict called Kočka (The Cat) slinks down a side alley to confront his underworld contacts inside the club-brothel run by the matronly Krajzlerka (E. Nollová); the whole sequence is a wonder of noir sensibilities (dark shadows, subjective camera, etc.) that culminates in a crumpled message tossed through the window and into Krajzlerka’s pot simmering on the stove. Thus begins the Cat’s search for the stolen loot he had long ago set aside and his pursuit of revenge on Karta (Ladislav H. Struna), the man who ratted him out (these efforts will also entail the Cat’s impersonation of a Chinese man’s corpse). Yet the Cat is a minor character on the screen; in fact, the Cat’s true identity is concealed by a leather coat and hat until the end. Instead, the film belongs to police inspector Čadek, played by the extremely prolific Jaroslav Marvan, whose requests for help are rebuffed by the Cat’s former lover Frona (Dana Medřická), who has fallen in love with Dr. Karel Chrudimský (Vilém Pfeiffer) and wants to begin a new life far away from crime. Based on a novel by Eduard Fiker, the script, which slows down in the second act, may seem overcomplicated or under-reasoned to some, but the film is continually interesting through its convincingly claustrophobic atmosphere, fleet-footed action in the shadows, and craftsmanship that rivals the French poetic realism of the previous decade.