Officer 13

In this B-movie, you might notice that although Mickey Rooney is in the film that he's billed as 'Mickey McGuire'. This is because from the late 1920s into the mid-1930s, Rooney played Mickey McGuire in several dozen films.

The story begins with two motorcycle policemen on the job. When I guy comes barreling down the road at 70 miles per hour, they cops give chase. One of them is deliberately knocked off the road and he's killed. When his surviving partner brings in the driver and his passenger, he expects justice....but due to some perjury, he's acquitted of manslaughter. And, not surprisingly, the cop is furious--his partner and best friend was killed....and no one seems too concerned that a known gambler and racketeer is responsible but won't be punished. What's next?

This is a mildly enjoyable B-movie that is worth seeing but isn't exactly a must-see. Decent enough when it comes to acting and script, it's not bad...just not exactly inspired either.

Motorcycle cop Charles Delaney is run off the road and killed by rich wastrel Robert Ellis. Ellis threatens his passenger, judge's daughter Lila Lee, that he'll say she grabbed the steering wheel and caused the accident unless she backs up his story that they saw nothing. Delaney's pal, Monte Blue, has an outburst in court and gets demoted to the sticks. Meanwhile, Miss Lee's father, Lloyd Ingraham, impresses on her the enormity of what has happened. She goes to Delaney's home, where his son, Mickey Rooney breaks down. She goes to the Chief of Police and confesses, but the fix is in.

At this point, something happens to the story that makes me think that about twenty minutes of the story was tossed out, even though the copy I saw was the original running time, because there's a raid on Seena Owen's gambling den. By the time this movie is finished, everything is sorted out, although what that was remains a mystery to me.

It's well-directed by George Melford, near his talkie trough. He would fight his way back to the majors from this Poverty Row release. Likewise, ten years earlier, the cast would have been quite at home in a well-produced Paramount release -- although, it must be admitted that Mickey Rooney would have been a little young. Although the plot hole bothers me, and Ben Blue looks a bit stooped and doughy, this is a well-made, tough-minded Pre-Code.

Lovely Lila Lee is the top-billed female, but she is generally upstaged by pert Frances Rich, who is given a juicier, if smaller, part.

Both deserved a long and well-paid career. Alas, today they are unknown.

Monte Blue had a very long career, though he too is not very well known today. He had looks and talent and did keep busy as long as he wanted.

Mickey McGuire didn't exactly disappear: He became Mickey Rooney, one of the biggest stars of the century. Deservedly. Here, as a child, he was probably the best actor on the set. Until he got just a few years older, he was controlled and in control, always perfectly under-stated and perfectly believable.

Alas, later, he needed firmer directorial hands than he usually got and he was too often over the top.

Again, here he was perfect, one of the finest actors in motion picture history.

He had a partner in the child part of the story, Jackie Searle. Young Mr. Searle was another extraordinary actor, but one who never reached the heights he also deserved.

They and a generally very good cast had a slow-moving story that still keeps one's attention in a taut drama that seems about to let the bad guys win, as is so often true in real life.

"Officer Thirteen," or "Officer 13," is a low-budget but more than adequate entertainment, one I can recommend, even in the not-so-hot print at YouTube.

It might have more historical than entertainment value, but it does have both.