Meurtres à Miami

For me, "Miami Exposé" is a slam-dunk recommendation. Not only is it a good crime film, it features some supporting actors I really enjoy--Edward Arnold (in his last film), Alan Napier and Lee J. Cobb.

The film begins on a seemingly ordinary Sunday. Lt. Scott (Cobb) finishes his shift and heads home while his friend stays to mind the office. A call comes in to the police that someone witnessed a stabbing. This old friend of Scott investigates...and ends up dead! Scott's time off is soon disrupted by a call telling him what's occurred and he vows to get those responsible.

So what's going on--why the double murder? Well, it turns out that this is somehow related to an underworld scheme to legalize gambling in Florida and 'Mr. Big' turns out to be a guy you'd never expect to play such a ruthless role--Alan Napier. Napier is the dignified British actor who played Alfred the Butler on the old "Batman" show--a fine and distinguished guy. Here, however, his British accent has disappeared and he's downright evil--and I really, really liked seeing this casting. Additionally, his toady (Arnold) was fine--especially in the final scene. All in all, this is a tough and enjoyable film. Not among the greats of the genre but well worth your time and quite well written and acted.

Another standard City Confidential/Expose that perforated the Fifties and most had not much to recommend. The run of supposedly hard-boiled uncovering of dirty dealings and sleazy surroundings usually were less than advertised and almost always dull and disappointing.

This is not one of the better ones. Despite some travelogue scenery and a try at authenticating the whole thing with sombre narration it is all quite unremarkable and is nothing more than pedestrian.

The ending has some really silly things like putting a child in the cross-hairs and an approving lovelorn glance back and forth between a Cop and a reluctant Witness who picks up a Gun and starts firing. This really warms the Heart of our protector and is quite a Screen embarrassment. But that is typical of this whole clunky, stiff, cardboard cutouts of Cops, Bad-guys, and Girls with chiffon gowns.

Police detective Lee J. Cobb (as Barton "Bob" Scott), who wants to retire in two years, fights off gangland efforts by crooked attorney Alan Napier (Ray Sheridan) and stocky partner-in-crime Edward Arnold (Oliver Tubbs), who want to turn Miami into a southeastern Las Vegas. After a fatal shooting, Mr. Cobb must protect sexy Patricia Medina (as Lila Hodges), who witnessed the killing of Cobb's police captain...

It you can stand to watch "Miami Exposé" until the end, you may want to know why Cobb's fiancée, a police widow, includes son Barry Connors (as Stevie Easton) on a cabin trip with a woman targeted for assassination. Couldn't safety-conscious Eleanore Tanin (as Ann Easton) find a sitter? Well, the shootout was fun… This was silent film actor, "Diamond Jim" star, and character actor Edward Arnold's final film.

*** Miami Exposé (9/56) Fred F. Sears ~ Lee J. Cobb, Patricia Medina, Edward Arnold

The movie's intro tells you that it is based on real events, so this is a noir doc. Director Sears does a fine job of keeping the action tight and credible, at a good pace, and to that end he is greatly helped by excellent B&W photography for a B flick and, above all, by outstanding performances from Lee J. Cobb, Edward Arnold, and Alan Napier as the brain pursuing the legalization of gambling in Florida to then run the show.

The solid script posts dialogue of remarkably high quality for a B pic. Definitely worth watching! 7/10.

Fred S Sears was known for directing many B movies for Columbia Pictures and mostly under the monitoring of the infamous Sam Katzman, the producer. Sears made science fiction, crime films and also war or westerns, even juvenil delinquency stuff. In the crime genre he gave us CHICAGO SYNDICATE, INSIDE DETROIT, MIAMI EXPOSE and MIAMI STORY. Those films were all a bit lousy but not laughable either. This one in particular belongs to the least worst, for a director as Sears. Lee Cobb is not ridiculous for such a second rate feature and the story, though not very surprising, a good time waster. For gem diggers.