I've seen a number of poor films from Poverty Row studio PRC Pictures, but this has to be one of their better efforts, an unusually involved gangster flick that pits bad guys against bad guys and a grand jury attempting to get the goods on a big time crime syndicate. Newspaper reporter Jim Riley (Tom Neal) gets unusually close to mobster Bugs Kelley (Danny Morton) by saving him from a rub out, only to hear of his eventual demise for refusing to join Crime, Inc. One of the more interesting casting decisions has to be that of Leo Carillo as Tony Marlowe, finger man for the mob, and diametrically opposed in character to the one he portrayed as the Cisco Kid's sidekick in all those Western films and TV shows. It was a bit surprising to see him pull off a serious role without going for one of those hysterical malapropisms, although he did place a five thousand dollar bet that turned out to be a contract hit on Bugs Kelley.
With the film coming in at about seventy five minutes, the windup did seem to be just a bit too tidy, as all the elements fell into place to bring the members of the crime organization to justice. I think I'll need another viewing to make the connection with the crooked cop who leaked information to the criminals, as that seemed to blow by rather quickly. The romantic subplot between Riley and Kelley's sister Betty (Martha Tilton) didn't seem especially necessary for the story, but it didn't hurt either. Say, how was that for an impromptu wedding ceremony as the final curtain came down?
I always found it helpful when watching the Charlie Chan films of the era to keep a scorecard to track the many characters who were introduced during the course of the story. The same applies here, as it's easy to get the good guys confused with the villains and vice versa. Like Lionel Atwill and Sheldon Leonard, you wind up marveling at their appearance in the story well before you figure out which side they're on!
With the film coming in at about seventy five minutes, the windup did seem to be just a bit too tidy, as all the elements fell into place to bring the members of the crime organization to justice. I think I'll need another viewing to make the connection with the crooked cop who leaked information to the criminals, as that seemed to blow by rather quickly. The romantic subplot between Riley and Kelley's sister Betty (Martha Tilton) didn't seem especially necessary for the story, but it didn't hurt either. Say, how was that for an impromptu wedding ceremony as the final curtain came down?
I always found it helpful when watching the Charlie Chan films of the era to keep a scorecard to track the many characters who were introduced during the course of the story. The same applies here, as it's easy to get the good guys confused with the villains and vice versa. Like Lionel Atwill and Sheldon Leonard, you wind up marveling at their appearance in the story well before you figure out which side they're on!