An FBI agent investigates the murder of his partner by taking over the 3 cases he was working on, determined to find his killer.An FBI agent investigates the murder of his partner by taking over the 3 cases he was working on, determined to find his killer.An FBI agent investigates the murder of his partner by taking over the 3 cases he was working on, determined to find his killer.
- Dave Millson
- (as Casey Adams)
- Police Detective Grant
- (uncredited)
- Alex Sherk
- (uncredited)
- Man Questioned About Matty Pavelich
- (uncredited)
- Man Getting Rubdown
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe producers struck a cross-promotional deal with the then-popular clothing store Ohrbach's. In exchange for having Ruth Roman's character be an employee of the store, Ohrbach's agreed to provide most of the female characters' costumes.
- Goofs(at around 45 mins) Connie Anderson enters the downtown L.A. subway station. She first walks into a trolley car, and the car is marked number "5000" inside the car. She then leaves that car, but now the same car is marked "5009" on the outside. Then she walks to her right and boards a different car, marked "5000" on the outside.
- Quotes
Police Lieutenant Jake Kuppol: We're all finished with you, Mr. Werker.
Mr. Werker: I thought I'd wait around for the reporters and photographers. They may want to take my picture.
Police Lieutenant Jake Kuppol: The Chronicle's down the street two blocks.
Mr. Werker: That was an awful shock you know, finding that body. I am not a well man. I fell off a roof once and all my insides got shoved up two inches. My stomach's up against my liver. My liver's up against my gall bladder. And my gall bladder's between my stomach and my lungs. Besides which I gotta bad heart. You'd think they'd want to take my picture. After all, a sick man like me finding that girl, huh?
This was one of those semi-documentaries popular among crime stories in the late '40s/early '50s. It usually plugged one of the U.S. law enforcement agencies. Here, it was the FBI and we followed a couple of agents as they tried to tie in several cases in the Los Angeles area. Sometimes these movies were labeled "crime dramas" and sometimes "film noirs." This movie contains a lot of both elements.
Along the way, we see a lot of familiar faces, especially if you grew up watching a lot of television in the '50s and '60s. You may not know all the names, but you'll know the faces.
Names you probably know, however, are Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman and Martha Hyer. There are three of the half-dozen or so actor who all play a significant part of this story.
Crawford is an FBI agent and lower-key one than you might expect. He's not the gruff lawman of "Highway Patrol" or the loudmouth politician of "All The King's Men." Here, he's gentle with people all the while being an effective FBI guy.
Ruth Roman, as "Kate Martel." plays one of several key female roles, as either crime victim or gangster-girlfriend. Ruth plays a role similar to one Lee Remick played in about 10 years later in a film called "Experiment In Terror." Marilyn Monroe-wannabe Martha Hyer is a hoot as a sexy blonde playing a thug's girlfriend, or should I say "moll." She has some great lines, calling the cops "you dirty crumbs" and the like. Her character is pure film noir.
Marisa Pavan is interesting as the blind "Julie Angelino" and so is a young Claude Akins as a boxer-criminal. Jay Adler, Kenneth Tobey and others all have those familiar TV faces.
Movie buffs will get a kick out of the climactic scene, which takes place at the foot of the "Hollywood" sign on top of a hill. That nostalgia, along with the very cool automobiles of the period, make this a good trip down "memory lane."
Unfortunately, this is one of those classic movies that never made it to VHS or DVD. Hopefully, someone will put it in a DVD classics box-set some day. It's a good film and deserves a DVD of its own.
- ccthemovieman-1
- Apr 27, 2009
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Case File: FBI
- Filming locations
- Ohrbach's, 5711 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA(Department store in which Kate Martel works as a buyer)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $275,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color