A Dangerous Profession

Richard Winnington was a bit unfair on George Raft when he accused him of just going through the motions "without a flicker of expression or removing his hat", since he takes his hat off quite often in this involved but uninvolving tale of bail bond officers, the Dangerous Profession of the title.

It's actually far more laid back that the rather dramatic title indicates and too brightly lit to qualify as 'film noir'. Pat O'Brien and Jim Backus (who also supplies the opening narration) seem to be enjoying cynically sauntering about in big suits more than Raft himself.

A Dangerous Profession is directed by Ted Tetzlaff and written by Warren Duff and Martin Rackin. It stars George Raft, Ella Raines, Pat O'Brien, Bill Williams and Jim Backus. Music is by Frederick Hollander and cinematography by Robert De Grasse.

The scene is set, it's Los Angeles and Police Lt. Nick Ferrone (Backus) explains to us with stentorian narration about the whiles of bail bond brokers. This story is concerned with one in particular, Vince Kane (Raft), a one time policeman who followed the lure of the coin into a partnership of a bail bonds operation. It's all going swimmingly well, he's making lots of cash, has gals eating out of his hand, but when a pretty face from his past turns up requesting a favour? Vince suddenly finds himself in a quagmire of murder, deceit and emotional discord.

What cop ever reformed?

Shall we cut to the chase here? This is not a "great" film, though I do believe that it's very under seen and therefore the meagre internet ratings it has - and the lack of reviews for it - don't quite tell the whole story.

There's nothing particularly striking about the visual aspects here, De Grasse's photography occasionally falls in line with what film noir fans consider standard procedure, which has led a few critics to question the film's film noir status. This is all about Vince Kane and how he is thrust into a murky new world by a slinky femme, it may be a whodunit in essence, but the Vince and Lucy Brackett (Raines) axis is most assuredly noir.

You phony Gumshoe!

Action is in short supply, leaving much of the piece in talky territory. There's a few zinger lines of dialogue in the mix, but mostly it's screen writing 101. Yet in spite of the mixed qualities on offer here, it's a film that Raft fans are sure to enjoy, because he's very much great value as the stoic but emotionally troubled Vince. In fact O'Brien turns in one of his better performances and Raines is pleasingly sultry, meaning the cast perform well up to scratch, even if the screenplay does them few favours.

A mixed bag for sure, and hardly essential for fans of such cinematic fare, but there's just enough from the cast to make this one above average. 6/10

A career police detective turned bail bondsman (George Raft) meets his ex-flame (Ella Raines) (he knows it's her because of the scent of the perfume that's in her and her husband's hotel room which he and detective Jim Backus search) in a fairly intricate story about her husband (Bill Williams) whose arrested for suspicion of killing a cop and then bailed out by Raft, against the wishes of his partner (Pat O'Brien). Why he's bailed out and who actually comes up with sufficient money to get him out of jail make for interesting viewing. As well, Ella Raines hits some of her more sultry looking scenes in this movie, which may not be the best movie she's ever been in, but still percolates along more than acceptably, especially when the real killer emerges as the sharp little film heads out of LA and into a convenient canyon.

"A Dangerous Profession" is a decent enough film...the sort mildly entertaining stuff that George Raft made in the post-war years. It begins with Vince (Raft) working as a bail bondsman along with his partner (Pat O'Brien). Apparently Vince used to be a cop but decided to change careers. Why he wanted a change soon becomes apparently when his old girlfriend, Lucy (Ella Raines) shows up to try to bail her stupid husband out of jail. This IS a surprise...as Vince hasn't heard from her since she disappeared some time ago...nor did he know she was married...and had been when he knew her! Of course it's a surprise but Vince is a dope...so he helps her and her dopier husband. But when the husband soon is murdered, things get really, really confusing. So what's next?

This is a mildly interesting film but it suffers a bit from Raft's relatively dull screen persona as well as his being a bit too trusting to be realistic. The story also becomes a bit confusing and is, if you think about it, a bit like a reworking of "Casablanca"! Odd but worth seeing if you like old film noir movies.

A Dangerous Profession is a mildly diverting crime picture featuring a fine cast headed by veterans George Raft and Pat O'Brien, both of whom had seen better days by the time they appeared in this picture. Nor is the direction of the usually reliable Ted Tetzlaff up to his usual standard. This is the kind of small scale but not quite grade B movie that television was about to make obsolete, and as such an interesting historical footnote of a bygone era for those who care for such things.