Officer Thirteen

Motorcycle cop Charles Delaney is run off the road and killed by rich wastrel Robert Ellis. Ellis threatens his passenger, judge's daughter Lila Lee, that he'll say she grabbed the steering wheel and caused the accident unless she backs up his story that they saw nothing. Delaney's pal, Monte Blue, has an outburst in court and gets demoted to the sticks. Meanwhile, Miss Lee's father, Lloyd Ingraham, impresses on her the enormity of what has happened. She goes to Delaney's home, where his son, Mickey Rooney breaks down. She goes to the Chief of Police and confesses, but the fix is in.

At this point, something happens to the story that makes me think that about twenty minutes of the story was tossed out, even though the copy I saw was the original running time, because there's a raid on Seena Owen's gambling den. By the time this movie is finished, everything is sorted out, although what that was remains a mystery to me.

It's well-directed by George Melford, near his talkie trough. He would fight his way back to the majors from this Poverty Row release. Likewise, ten years earlier, the cast would have been quite at home in a well-produced Paramount release -- although, it must be admitted that Mickey Rooney would have been a little young. Although the plot hole bothers me, and Ben Blue looks a bit stooped and doughy, this is a well-made, tough-minded Pre-Code.