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The Lawbreakers

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Original title

The Lawbreakers

Year

1961

Running time

79 min.

Country

United States

Director

Joseph M. Newman

Screenwriter

Paul Monash, W.R. Burnett

Cast

Music

Johnny Mandel

Cinematography

Nicholas Musuraca (B&W)

Producer

MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Genre

Drama | Crime

Synopsis

The main story in this noir is a syndicate crime story. There is a collector of vice proceeds (Robert Bailey) who drives a car with special locks such that the car cannot be opened while he's inside and its glass is very strong. Bailey collects from several syndicate operators, including Ken Lynch. He turns the aggregate over to Robert Douglas who then passes it along. Each link in the chain is isolated from the others, or is supposed to be, and each link works in fear that if they stole the proceeds and ran, they'd be caught and killed. Douglas, however, has big debts including the upkeep of his secretary-mistress, Vera Miles. She urges him on to a heist. How this is done and how it works out makes for a very captivating story. The syndicate sends in the psychologically-menacing Robert H. Harris, a specialist in playing such parts.

The police play a substantial role in the story. When they find the body of Bailey shot inside his car after he runs down a family, they have few clues. There is quite a bit here having to do with the ineffective old commissioner (David White) who is replaced by the well-organized and knowledgeable Jack Warden. Jay Adler, a hack, threads his way in and out of the police activities. Little by little the police, including Arch Johnson in support, begin to gauge the vague outlines of what may have happened. Meanwhile the thieves involved, lacking honor, are working against each other in a series of double crosses. The police really do not know the details.

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User history

The Lawbreakers

1961

Joseph M. Newman