When he crashed his vehicle, he was confronted by a group of Secret Service agents and firmly told by one of them, Steve Fulbright (Stephen McHattie), that he was "in the middle of a federal investigation" - and the criminals shouldn't be apprehended at this time: "We wanna know where he's going with what he's got and who he's selling it to.Dr.Stuart commented: "Ten cents, ten million dollars - just doesn't matter when a man's time comes." In his bathrobe after being awakened in the middle of the night, Ted Ulam (Arthur Malet), the funeral director, responded: "I could give him a nicer service right here in Sparta than he could ever get up there in Chicago - and at half the price, too.Then, as Heather brought breakfast to Logan, both she and her husband were shot and murdered inside the barn by sniper Agent Zero.) Independent producer Stanley Kramer and director Edward Dmytryk (one of the original blacklisted "Hollywood Ten" and director ofMurder, My Sweet (1944)andCrossfire (1947)) had earlier collaborated on the melodramatic thrillerThe Sniper (1952), the dramatic combat filmEight Iron Men (1952), andThe Juggler (1953)with Kirk Douglas, but this fourth film was their most-acclaimed and successful work.