Law of the Underworld

Eduardo Ciannelli robs Richard Bond and Anne Shirley of the $136 they plan to get married on. They track him to where his gang is meeting. The boss is Chester Morris, who leads the seemingly impeccable life of a socialite when he isn't planning jewel robberies. He gets the youngsters to act as come-ons in one of his robberies, but they refuse the $2000 he offers them. They only want their $136.

All fine and settled, until Morris has to kill Ciannelli, Ciannelli's squeeze, night-club singer Lee Patrick commits suicide with with a $1000 check from Morris, and the youngsters are picked up in a raid on a closed night club. DA Walter Abel knows what's going on, but he can't prove anything in court. Who can he squeeze?

It's a remake of 1930's THE PAY-OFF, based on a successful play; Morris had played the Cianenlli role on stage. I can see it working, but, alas, it doesn't here, not quite. Morris is smooth, a little too nonchalant considering the stakes. It's a rare miscalculation for him. But no one is particularly stellar here. Miss Shirley is whiny, Abel is brisk, and so forth. Well, at least Nick Musuraca offers some nice, shadowy compositions. With Paul Guilfoyle, Eddie Acuff, and Jack Carson.