I never once figured out who did it either,until the killer was revealed, and yeah, that was a kicker. Good wrap-up to a really good/well-made and underrated film noir.

Yes, he definitely had us fooled, though as you point out, there are some clues that we could have picked up on. My prediction was that it would turn out that Stella was actually still alive (her murder having been faked by Judd and the police, for some reason, maybe to show up Dana Andrews as a gold-digging psychopath) and would turn up in the final scene.

Early on, we were given numerous clues about the former New York police detective and his sudden appearance in a small unlikely California town. The later "kid glove" interrogation of Atkins should have clued us in. But, no, we again didn't catch it.
The writer, director, and everyone involved in this
noir
fooled us completely. A job well done toward the end of Hollywood's golden era!
E pluribus unum

I just finished watching the movie and was certain that it would by June. My only question was how would they catch her!

This one stumped me pretty well. I had it all figured out and knew who the killer was - several times. Wrong every time.

I'm usually pretty good at predicting who did it, but this time I was fooled. I also thought it was her sister or Pops.

My uncle thought she was tops. He was a traveling salesman and probably saw all of her movies in lonely towns. He named his first daughter after her. Personally, I only watch her films to try to discover what he saw in her.

I was hoping June too. That would have made this good film great! Having the goody two shoes June the unsuspected killer, showing she had a dark side, would have been terrific. The filmmakers probably thought of it but it probably weould not have gone down well with audiences at the time.
I thought Alice Faye was good as the rest of the cast. My first Linda Darnell film in 25 years. She should be considered a screen siren up there with Rita and Marilyn! Amazing beauty.

I thought it would turn out Clara killed Stella.
same here.
When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth

I predicted Clara, too, just because she was the one no one suspected. I'm glad it wasn't, though. Her motivation would have been pretty thin. The real culprit was no surprise, but at least he was believable.
Justin

I thought it would turn out Clara killed Stella.