Homicide Bureau

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Movie
Original title Homicide Bureau
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1939
length 58 minutes
Rod
Director Charles C. Coleman
script Earle Snell
production Irving Briskin ,
Jack Frier
music Sidney Cutner
camera Benjamin H. Kline
cut James Sweeney
occupation

Homicide Bureau is a 1939 American crime film starring Bruce Cabot and Rita Hayworth .

action

When his city is flooded by criminals, Police Chief Raines orders his men to bring about law and order. In doing so, they should obey the law, not Detective Jim Logan's suggestion that suspects should be beaten the truth out if necessary. After the former coroner has retired, Logan is supposed to pick up the new forensic scientist named J. G. Bliss at the airport. As it turns out there, contrary to expectations, this is a woman.

When ex-convict Chuck Brown kills a man in a pool hall a short time later, Logan is supposed to investigate the case. The police soon put out a manhunt for Brown, but Brown has a perfect alibi . Since Brown's accomplices make the murder weapon disappear, the police find no evidence that suggests Brown's guilt. Nevertheless, Logan is convinced of Brown's guilt and therefore seeks him in his apartment. In the momentous fight between the two, Brown falls out of the window and barely survives. Although Logan is pulled from the case and demoted, he continues his investigation with the help of J. G. Bliss. He finds out that Brown is connected to a blackmail gang.

When an honest scrap dealer learns that Brown and his people are selling valuable scrap metal to enemy nations, and before he can report it to the police, he is also murdered. After Raines personally takes on the new case, the trail of the crime leads him to a ship in port loaded with smuggled weapons. There he is caught and captured by the gang of gangsters, not knowing that Logan is already on their heels. He manages to free his superior. When the rest of the police arrive at the port, there is a wild shooting, in the course of which the gangsters ultimately run out of ammunition . Because of his loyal services, Jim Logan is then awarded a medal of honor and falls happily into JG Bliss' arms.

background

Homicide Bureau was one of the first crime films in which the fledgling field of forensic medicine was directed by a woman in the form of Rita Hayworth. It was also Hayworth's last film in Irving Briskin's B-film division of Columbia Pictures . Three months after the publication of Homicide Bureau , she made her breakthrough in SOS Fires On Board (1939), directed by Howard Hawks, alongside Cary Grant and Jean Arthur . From then on she only appeared in films with much larger budgets .

Reviews

Weekly Variety wrote at the time that the film reached "a new low point within the crime film genre". "Every area of ​​production is far below the standard for this type of film". According to Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, there are “limits to what even a very tolerant person can endure”. Regarding Homicide Bureau , "the word 'manslaughter' in the title is a terrible, misleading understatement." Rather, it is “murder, cold-hearted, premeditated murder”.

Hans J. Wollstein from the All Movie Guide stated in retrospect that Rita Hayworth, "the future sex goddess", played "second fiddle to a B-movie hero in this small, cheap crime drama" in Homicide Bureau . Although Homicide Bureau is not "pure embarrassment", it is "perfectly obvious" that Hayworth "would be successful one day and only step on the spot here while Columbia decides how she should achieve this success". In view of this, Homicide Bureau proves to be "one of those gap fillers who don't keep you awake at night," but who you can still like.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "[The Film] hits new low in cycle of crimewave opuses, with every department of production way below - par for this type of picture." Weekly Variety quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 98.
  2. ↑ “There are limits to what even a professional tolerator can stand. Take for instance, Homicide Bureau ; in our humble opinion, the word 'homicide' in the title is grievous, pettifogging understatment. It's murder, folks, cold-blooded, premeditated murder. " Bosley Crowther in The New York Times quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 98.
  3. ^ "Rita Hayworth, the future sex goddess, is still playing second fiddle to a B-movie hero in this cheap little crime drama. Not that Homicide Bureau is an embarrassment […] but it is patently obvious that the lady is going places and only treading water while Columbia Pictures decides what that place should be. With that in mind, Homicide Bureau remains one of those B-fillers that won't keep anyone awake at night but is very hard to dislike. " Hans J. Wollstein, cf. omovie.com