Traffic in Crime

Drifter Kane Richmond gets into a bar fight and then is rolled by the cops, despite the protests of police chief Arthur Loft. The town is corrupt, controlled by Wilton Graf. Richmond goes to Graf's home and demands his money back. Graf is amused and peels off the money, then offers Richmond a thousand dollars for a night's work, no questions asked. Richmond seems intrigued by the money, Graf's wife Adele Mara, and newspaperwoman Anne Nagel. She and her father, Harry Cheshire, are trying to clean up the town, but no one is interested.

Director Lesley Selander -- credited as 'Les Selander' -- seems to have misunderstood what 'film noir' meant, because the print I looked at was so dark that about a third of its 56 minutes looks absolutely black; if there isn't a 'real' light source, there's only blackness. Still, Richmond has the voice for noir, Miss Mara is a fine noir bad girl, Miss Nagel a good girl. With a few more sound effects, it might have made a good radio play.

Sam and his friend arrive in some town only to quickly see it's NOT a very friendly town. First, he's attacked by some jerk. Then, when the cops arrive, they prove they're corrupt when they slug him for absolutely no reason...and steal his money! Sam is angry and has learned that the town is run by some thug...and even the police listen to Nick Cantrell! Instead of leaving town, he goes to Cantrell's home...demanding the money. Instead of having Sam beaten or shot, Cantrell says he likes Sam's nerve and he gives him his money...and wants to hire him to impersonate him...and give him $1000! What's next? See the film and find out who is taking advantage of who...as clearly it's NOT going to be this easy. As you can guess as you watch the film, Sam is NOT the creep he's now pretending to be...he has an agenda. But what?

This is a confusing movie,...with more twists and turns than usual. This means that you need to pay attention to follow the plot. This is a big strike against it...as is some of the acting. However, the dialog is VERY snappy...very tough. This nearly makes it a must-see...nearly. As is, it's a decent time-passer.