They're Always Caught

Well as if you didn't know already... crime does not pay! This edition from the MGM crime reporter tells us the story of a mayor determined to stamp out organised crime. The first five minutes illustrate to us that now he hasn't his enemies to seek, and so when he ends up singing with the angels, we're not surprised and the police forensic experts have quite a conundrum to solve. They do have an obvious candidate, but is he just too convenient, especially as one of the late official's aides looks like he is trying to railroad the process for a quick conviction? It is all a bit basic, but it does quite interestingly showcase just how scientific advances can glean clues from the most innocuous of fibres, powders and fabrics that might be ordinarily commonplace, but when used to build a case, can prove remarkably effective. This one is a little contrived, but if you are an arch-criminal planning a dastardly crime, it might just teach you to wear an hair-net and some mittens.

When reform mayor Charles Waldron is blown up with a car bomb by crooked aide John Eldredge, Louis Jean Heydt is accused and picked up. However crime lab scientist Stanley Ridges won't call anyone guilty without real proof. When he has it, though, the evil-doers will discover that CRIME DOES NOT PAY.

This entry in the long-running MGM series can be considered a precursor of all those science-based mystery shows that have become so popular in the past few years. In shows like BONES and CSI, it's always science that figures out whodunnit, and this was good enough to get an Oscar nomination and an expansion a few years later into the feature KID GLOVE KILLER.

It's remarkably low-key for the series, which often culminated in gun battles, fires and attendant deaths. The decision not to have any -- Waldron aside, and that happens offscreen -- it doesn't need it.

The always interesting "Crime Does Not Pay" series from MGM, running from 1935 to 1947, checks in with an interesting tale of a crusading mayor, his betrayal and murder, a man who looks guilty but isn't , and the role of forensic science in solving the crime.

Always part dramatic, part documentary, these 20 minute shorts do a pretty good job of showing empathy when it is appropriate tempered with justice. In this case, the short focuses on the role of science in solving the crime. The mayor is killed with a car bomb and the culprit thinks the explosion will erase all evidence. But careful evidence collection by the police, the test tube, the microscope, and the spectrograph give the police a clear view of why the chief suspect could not be guilty, and who the actual murderer is. With a dramatic conclusion, think of it as Quincy M.E., 1938 without the colorful Jack Klugman.

I have watched a few of the Crime Does Not pay series and by far this is the best episode of the series. I am amazed that even in the 1930's science had already begun to take giant leaps in assisting criminal investigations to solve crimes. Okay so the archaic use of a simple microscope to verify strands of clothing may not be record breaking but the way these forensic scientists solved the crime by looking very closely at the minimal evidence the car bomb left behind was unique and as a result I was intrigued.

Great acting and a great episode. A must see.

I give it an IMDB rating of 8 out of 10.

Mayor Fletcher is cleaning house. He's firing corrupt officials and canceling contracts. He's taking down rackets. Small business owner Eddie Diesel is tired of paying off the crooks and tries to contact the mayor at his home. Meanwhile the mayor fires prosecutor Jimmy Stark for taking bribes and letting off major crime leaders. The mayor is killed by a car bomb in his garage and the police arrests Eddie. Dr. John Pritchard uses scientific investigation techniques to solve the case.

This is part of MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series. It was nominated for the Oscars. The crime story is rather stiff and the acting is also a little stiff. It's functional and then there is the CSI second half. They haven't invented the rock music montage yet but it's still fascinating to see. This feels somewhat like an industrial movie at times.