This is one of those movies that falls into the unfortunate category of forgettable films. It has a convoluted plot, bland characters, and a narrative that feels like it meanders to an inevitable conclusion. It wants to say something about the sins of gambling and its ties with organized crime but the way that is handled is weak and doesn’t tackle any new ground. The best that I can say about this film is that it isn’t outright awful, that at least would be something. Instead, it just exists as one of many generic B-pictures that came out in the 40s and 50s.
The plot involves a police reporter, Lorelei Kilbourne (Hillary Brooke), who has become a published author and is leaving her job to join the Illustrated Press. Managing Editor Steve Wilson (Phillip Reed) hires the publisher’s niece, Susan Peabody (Ann Gillis), to replace her, unaware that she has become involved with gangsters with ties to the gambling rackets. Soon she is plotting to swindle $50,000 from her uncle to settle her debts with the mob. It doesn’t take long for Steve, and a returning Lorelei, to start piecing all of this together.
There is no real mystery on hand here. We know almost immediately that Susan has something shady going on in her background thanks to a scene early on where there is a silent exchange between her and some hoods in a bar. When she starts dropping hints towards the gambling racket we understand how it is all going to fit in. Then, when she is reportedly kidnapped and being held for ransom, we are fully aware that she is in on the kidnapping. These weaknesses could be at least partially overlooked if we had a good cast driving this narrative but we don’t even have that. Instead, we are left with an uninteresting story told by some serviceable performances, nothing more. All of this adds up to a bland film that amounts to little and will be easily forgotten shortly after viewing it. 1947 - 69 minutes
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