AllMovie

Near the end of his long life, Joseph H. Lewis vehemently denied ever having directed this film. Why someone would include the credit of an at the time almost unknown B-movie director who had nothing to do with the project remains a mystery, but a viewing of Criminals Within seems to substantiate Lewis' claim: the film possesses none of the cinematic flourishes that the director had lavished on earlier, and equally unworthy, films. Moreover, this espionage melodrama appears in some disarray, suffering not only from a garbled plot (a rather ordinary occurrence at bottom-of-the-barrel PRC), but also from the strange disappearance of leading lady Constance Worth at the halfway mark. Worth is unceremoniously killed off , after which Ann Doran is introduced, almost taking her place.