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L.T. Mitchell of Acme Amusement Enterprises is the frontman for a group of slot-machine racketeers. During a meeting in his office with his lawyer William Carrington and his mobster partner Monk Walter, he discusses the new anti-gambling ordinances which the district attorney and the police are taking seriously. Carrington, who is uncomfortable with Walter's violent business tactics, advises that they lie low for a while, but Walter feels that too much money is at stake to pull back. Always ready to use physical coercion to motivate local business owners, he wants to keep the current machines in operation, while expanding the presence of slot machines into new locations. Their heated discussion is interrupted by Fred Palmer, an overeager, young lawyer, who has just opened a law office down the hall with his partner, Tom Reagan. Fred's invitation to their open house party is rudely brushed off by Carrington, but Tom convinces young stenographer Mildred Anderson to join the party. Mildred is attracted to Fred, and Fred's mother Martha approves. Though she feels ill, Martha is also quietly celebrating, because she has put Fred through law school by running a neighborhood store and doing odd jobs. When the law firm is not immediately successful, Tom considers an offer to work with the district attorney, while Fred eagerly agrees to represent Walter, who is arrested on charges of possessing nitroglycerin explosives. Before the trial, many advise Fred to have Walter plead guilty, but by switching the exhibited bottle of nitro for a bottle of water, and claiming false evidence, Fred wins the case. Walter is free to murder a slot machine manufacturer who has raised his prices, and then has Mitchell set up a corporation to buy the murdered man's company under the name Bancroft Corporation. Although he is unhappy with Fred's clients, Tom works on the Bancroft contracts, unaware that the company is owned by Mitchell. Mildred, who is courting Fred, convinces him to break off from the mobsters. However, when his mother's heart condition worsens, Fred feels compelled to make the law office a success and agrees to represent Walter when a witness comes forward, claiming to have seen him at the scene of the factory owner's murder. Tom, who has discovered Bancroft Corporation's connection with Mitchell, insists that Fred drop the disreputable clients. Fred refuses, so Tom dissolves the partnership and takes the district attorney position. During the trial Fred and Tom represent opposite sides of the case. When the witness, who acts frightened, refuses to identify Walter, however, the case is dismissed and Walter is again free. Fred, who is now able to provide a comfortable living for his mother and himself, marries Mildred, but their honeymoon is interrupted when Mitchell learns that the police are looking for evidence to link him with the factory owner's murder. Fred feels confident he can defend him, but Mitchell wants to plea bargain. To Fred's horror, Walter, who fears he will be implicated if Mitchell pleads guilty, kills Mitchell in front of Fred, and makes it look like suicide. Fred then returns home to find that Mildred and his mother have left him, hoping that he will reconsider his current course. In the morning, Fred sends Tom a list of Walter's henchmen and promises to provide evidence by two o'clock that afternoon. He then proceeds to Mitchell's house to pick up corroborating papers that Mitchell had told him about, and encounters Walter there searching for the evidence. Walter and Fred fight, and Fred escapes to his car. Walter's thug, Johnny Mayer, is waiting to drive Walter, and they pursue Fred. Fred drives to the courthouse, but as he runs up the front steps, Walter shoots him and nabs the papers, just as Tom approaches. While pursuing Walter in a police car, the police shoot Johnny, whose car crashes, and Walter is killed trying to escape. Later in the hospital, Tom reports to the wounded Fred that the district attorney's office talked to the Bar Association, and decided against further investigation. After Tom says he wants to return to their partnership, Fred and Mildred make plans to finish their honeymoon.

STREET BANDITS – 1951 This is another of those quick (54 minute) programmers that &quot;Republic Pictures&quot; cranked out by the barrel full. This one has just out of Law School Lawyers, Robert Clarke and Ross Ford starting up their own practice. They rent a small office and wait for the clients to roll in. They end up sitting on their butts till a businessman down the hall, John Eldredge, hires them to defend one of his employees. The man, Roy Barcroft, is really a mobbed up guy who runs the local slot machine racket. Barcroft, (a thug if ever there was one) is up on a murder beef. It seems he blew up a bar that had refused to use his slots. It was a message to all the local club and bar owners to not refuse his offer. Lawyer Clarke takes to the work like a shark to blood and soon springs Barcroft. Clarke&#39;s girl, Penny Edwards, is not at all happy with Clarke defending &quot;those criminal types&quot;. Clarke&#39;s partner, Ross Ford is not at all happy with the setup either. He quits and joins the District Attorney&#39;s office. Clarke continues to work for Eldredge&#39;s company, even though he knows the outfit is just a front for the mob. He also knows that Eldredge is just the public face, while Barcroft is the real boss. Barcroft decides it is time to expand his hold on the slots racket. He blows up the boss, Charles Wagenhiem, of the other slot machine supplier. This of course brings loads more Police pressure on the rackets. Barcroft though, is an old school type who believes violence fixes everything. Lawyer Clarke has decided to stop working for Eldredge and Barcroft so he can marry his darling, Miss Edwards. He also wants time to spend with his ill mother, Helen Wallace. Clarke and Edwards get hitched and go off on their honeymoon. Half way through they get a call from Eldredge offering $10,000 to represent Barcroft again. It seems there had been a witness to Barcroft blowing up Wagenhiem and his warehouse. Clarke accepts because he can use the money to help his mother get the proper care for her illness. (bad heart) By this time, mob front man, Eldredge, is getting sick of the life and the increasingly crazy Barcroft. He shows Clarke a secret safe where he has documents, ledgers etc on all the crooked dealing he and Barcroft have done. He has decided to turn States evidence on Barcroft and take a light sentence. Needless to say Mister Barcroft is less than amused with his partner&#39;s idea when he finds out. He pulls a .38 and kills Eldredge right in front of Clarke. This is a more than subtle hint for Clarke to not step out of line and annoy Barcroft. Clarke heads home thinking about what he should do. He calls his ex-partner, Ross Ford at the DA&#39;s office. He tells him about the killing and that he should grab up Barcroft and his crew. Clarke says he will supply enough evidence to send Barcroft to the chair. Clarke drives back to Eldredge&#39;s office to grab the papers from the secret safe Eldredge had shown him. He is going to give it all to the Police. This idea goes south as Barcroft catches him with the stuff. Barcroft goes for his piece but Clarke flattens him with a solid punch. Clarke then races out and leaps in his car with the papers. He floors the beast and heads for the Police. Barcroft is quickly in hot pursuit with one of his henchmen. There is a pretty good chase sequence with Clarke leading Barcroft through the streets. Clarke beats Barcroft to the Police Station by a whisker. He takes the evidence and runs to the Station. Barcroft pulls up, plugs Clarke with a nifty bit of marksmanship. He grabs the evidence from the wounded Clarke and jumps back into his car. The Police are just as quick off the mark and the pursuit now has Barcroft as the rabbit in front. Barcroft and his driver soon fail to make a turn and crash into the side of a building. Barcroft beats the feet down the street but is soon cornered. He has no intention of coming quietly, and is soon suffering from a severe lead overdose. This quick and to the point programmer has Republic regular, R.G. Springsteen handling the directing chores. His films include, REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE, DOUBLE JEOPARDY, WHEN GANGLAND STRIKES, SECRET VENTURE, I COVER THE UNDERWORLD and SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATOR. Handling the director of photography chores is equally long serving Republic staple, John MacBurnie. MacBurnie started out on serials like, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, CAPTAIN America, JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN and THE BLACK WIDOW. He then moved on to B-westerns and low rent crime and film noir. These include, SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATOR, HIDEOUT, THE RED MEANCE, FEDERAL AGENT AT LARGE, POST OFFICE INVESTIGATOR, MISSING WOMEN and INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR. Several of these like, HIDEOUT, POST OFFICE INVESTIGATOR and INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR are quite nifty low renters. Roy Barcroft appeared in 375 plus different film and television productions. He was pretty well always the villain of the piece.

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Street Bandits

Republic Pictures provided many of those grade B movies, westerns and crime, most of them all made on the same frame with no particular movie better than the other. The Republic Pictures trade mark was action sequences, a domain where the studio monitored everything, thanks to its serial department. Republic Pictures made the best action packed serials of all times, and this &quot;talent&quot; was also used for regular films. After all why not? Here, I was excited to see Roy Barcroft as the villain, of course, as good as he was in many Republic serials. His face, his heavy set built, his presence has always delighted me in such movies, far far far more than the ever bland hero that we forget just after the ending credits. This one is not bad at all, and above all it&#39;s not long, under the hour length. As Harry Keller and Thomas Carr, Philip Ford, George Blair, RG Sringsteen was a chain B movies maker in the late forties and early fifties for the Republic Studios. But his fellow directors were more focused on westerns.

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Street Bandits

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