Arson for Hire

There have been a suspicious series of fires that look like arson. Inspector Steve Brodie is assigned to investigate, and begins with Lyn Thomas. Her father owned the building, but he died recently, and it's in probate. After Brodie leaves, she gets a visit from Jason Johnson. He wants his piece of the insurance money. If not, there are receipts for accelerants with her signature.

It's a good mystery, figuring out who the big man on the arson operation is, but it's the characters playing low lifes who are of most interest: Johnson, of course, and Frank Scannel, who does the actual arson, and Antony Carbone, who tries to blackmail Scannel; I think he's some sort of hophead.

Newsreel footage of fires is mixed in for a sense of reality, and some of movie is set on the Allied Artists lot -- you can see the studio's name on the gate, and a monster from FROM HELL IT CAME. Over all, it's competent and moves along fast enough to maintain interest.