The froggy-voiced Casey Adams narrates the film throughout a la Jack Webb, and begins with "I was dictating the wrap-up on the Butcher Benton package. I'm Lieutenant Dick Chasen." Apparently Inspector Jacques Strappe was on assignment.
The Butcher is played by Lon Chaney, Jr., who is about to be executed for a heist. His partners have ratted on him, and now he is about to take the fall. The Butcher promises his crooked attorney, played by Ross Elliott, that he'll kill them all.
Meanwhile, the 600 grand from the heist is hidden somewhere in L. A., its location known only to the Butcher. Butcher goes to the gas chamber in San Quentin (a fact announced by a radio voice which sounds suspiciously like Casey Adams).
Adams visits the Butcher's girlfriend, a burlesque dancer played by the lovely Marian Carr. He tries to get the location of the dough from her, but she is clueless. He does manage to take her out for a hamburger at a drive-in. Smooth. Elliott also pays her a visit, and discovers a map leading to the loot. Meanwhile, a distinguished biochemist, played by Robert Shayne, decides to experiment on the Butcher's dead body, hoping to find a cure for cancer. Yeah, right. He gives the Butcher 287,000 volts and accidentally revives him. Now the Butcher has a new cell structure - nothing can penetrate his skin. Unfortunately, the electricity shorts out his vocal chords (good for the viewing audience) so for the rest of the film he does mime (bad for the viewing audience - Chaney is no Marcel Marceau).
The Butcher wastes no time in tracking down the squealers and dispensing them one by one. The cops finally realize he is hiding in the L. A. sewers, where, oddly, he never encounters any giant ants. He survives a bazooka, a flame-thrower, and bullets fired by 60-year-old cops. Gosh, can anything halt this mayhem??
Ross Elliott probably does the best acting in the film, followed by Casey Adams. Robert Foulk has a nice bit as a bartender. Ann Doran can briefly be glimpsed in stock footage. Marian Carr looks great, but acts like a dumb bunny. Chaney wanders around L. A. inexplicably wearing a winter coat.
The director keeps giving us close-ups of Chaney's face sizzling with anger. His hairstyle continues to change throughout the movie. In one sequence, his coiffure is positively Hitleresque.
At 70 minutes, the film is tolerable, has some interesting L. A. location shots (almost noir-like at times), and is worth watching just to count all the dead bodies.
The Butcher is played by Lon Chaney, Jr., who is about to be executed for a heist. His partners have ratted on him, and now he is about to take the fall. The Butcher promises his crooked attorney, played by Ross Elliott, that he'll kill them all.
Meanwhile, the 600 grand from the heist is hidden somewhere in L. A., its location known only to the Butcher. Butcher goes to the gas chamber in San Quentin (a fact announced by a radio voice which sounds suspiciously like Casey Adams).
Adams visits the Butcher's girlfriend, a burlesque dancer played by the lovely Marian Carr. He tries to get the location of the dough from her, but she is clueless. He does manage to take her out for a hamburger at a drive-in. Smooth. Elliott also pays her a visit, and discovers a map leading to the loot. Meanwhile, a distinguished biochemist, played by Robert Shayne, decides to experiment on the Butcher's dead body, hoping to find a cure for cancer. Yeah, right. He gives the Butcher 287,000 volts and accidentally revives him. Now the Butcher has a new cell structure - nothing can penetrate his skin. Unfortunately, the electricity shorts out his vocal chords (good for the viewing audience) so for the rest of the film he does mime (bad for the viewing audience - Chaney is no Marcel Marceau).
The Butcher wastes no time in tracking down the squealers and dispensing them one by one. The cops finally realize he is hiding in the L. A. sewers, where, oddly, he never encounters any giant ants. He survives a bazooka, a flame-thrower, and bullets fired by 60-year-old cops. Gosh, can anything halt this mayhem??
Ross Elliott probably does the best acting in the film, followed by Casey Adams. Robert Foulk has a nice bit as a bartender. Ann Doran can briefly be glimpsed in stock footage. Marian Carr looks great, but acts like a dumb bunny. Chaney wanders around L. A. inexplicably wearing a winter coat.
The director keeps giving us close-ups of Chaney's face sizzling with anger. His hairstyle continues to change throughout the movie. In one sequence, his coiffure is positively Hitleresque.
At 70 minutes, the film is tolerable, has some interesting L. A. location shots (almost noir-like at times), and is worth watching just to count all the dead bodies.