A Gun in His Hand

In this police procedural with a twist, a group of police graduates are told the story of Dennis Nordell, a fellow graduate who went through all the training simply to use his new knowledge to become a better criminal, learning what not to do, as he put it. He and his gang then proceed to successfully knock off many liquor warehouses. But how will they eventually be caught?

I've always liked these Crime Does Not Pay shorts, having seen most on TCM. (even the copy I saw on YouTube is from a TCM airing) This one is directed by Joseph Losey, which is why I went into it, but I would've enjoyed it regardless. These shorts are always simple but interesting, designed to show the public to not even bother; you will be caught. Even in the days before computers and other hi-tech equipment, the departments could still be highly sophisticated in their own way.

As usual with these shorts, there were a few familiar faces, the most notable being Richard Gaines as Inspector Dana and Anthony Caruso as Frankie, but apparently Hugh Beaumont and good ol' Ray Teal are hanging around out back too. ;)

It was pretty cool to see this one and a total of nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes of other short films in this series as bonus tracks on the 'DVD 'Film Noir-Bringing Darkness To Light' by Warner Bros. This is a great short about how crime doesn't pay. The police forensics in the 40's were pretty damned amazing considering that there were NO COMPUTERS.

WB is GREAT about including short subjects that would probably never see the light of day on DVD or TV. The TCM channel, owned by WB does show these MGM shorts, thank goodness!

Several of these shorts have familiar character actor faces in them including Anthony Caruso in this one who was one of the most prolific character actors and contract players in Hollywood in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's. One of his most famous roles was in an episode of 'Star Trek' the original series in the episode 'A Piece Of The Action', where he played (surprise!) a gangster mob boss who meets Kirk and Spock and the Enterprise gang. Look up Anthony Caruso's impressive resume here on IMDb.

I collect celebrity autographs and I specialize in character actors and actresses, and I am fortunate to have Mr. Caruso's signature in my collection! No, I don't sell any of my autographs, either.

Gun in His Hand, A (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Nice entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series deals with a corrupt cop. Officer Dennis Nordell (Tom Trout) goes through the police training at the top of his class but his real goal after graduation is using this knowledge to pull off the perfect robberies. Nordell and his gang start knocking off alcohol warehouses but soon a patrolman is killed in action and his plan starts to unravel. This was the forty-six entry in the long-running series and it once again shows why this was one of the most entertaining series out there. Once again we're treated to a very good story with some good twists and nice acting. I'm not sure if fans of today's crime dramas would get too much from this series but fans of older movies certainly will. This episode had a pretty good story as seeing the cop use his knowledge to pull off the crimes was an interesting set up and the film does a nice job at closing things down. As usual, we get some nice action along the way and Trout makes for a good bad guy.

Tom Trout is a new graduate from the police academy. His future looks bright. He led the class in many of his subjects. He is also a crook. He had a clean record and figured that the best way to plan a crime is to learn how the police investigate one. Can he be on to something, or will he learn, as many a studio audience has, that CRIME DOES NOT PAY?

This short subject was nominated for an Oscar and it's easy to see why in retrospect. It very daringly concerns itself with police malfeasance. It's a common enough complaint these days, but in an era where the gang wars of Prohibition were not far away, the idea that the foot soldier in the fight against crime might be a problem was a shocker. Usually corruption, pay-offs from the hoods spread from the top in the popular mind.

The MGM back lot sure looks darker and more foreboding here than it does in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.

Considering the background checks that are done now for rookies to enter the police academy like my nephew had done on him a couple of years ago I think the plot of A Gun In His Hand would be unrealistic today. At a minimum someone with computer hacking skills would have to be in on the scheme.

Tom Trout goes to the police academy to learn police methods, the better to pull off robberies. For a while he has a good thing going, but he has to murder one of his fellow officers who recognizes him at the scene of a warehouse robbery.

I won't say more but to nail him good and proper Inspector Richard Gaines really sets him up with one elaborate con.

A Gun In His Hand won an Oscar nomination for Best Short Subject and you'll recognize such character players as Anthony Caruso, Ray Teal, and Arthur Space in the cast. A worthy entry in the MGM Crime Does Not Pay series.