Arson, Inc.

Very well shot with a good mix of angles, this is also pretty fast paced, but whilst it's interesting to see the fire services in action, this doesn't really go anywhere. The film is book-ended with very poorly delivered fire chief statements about how every has to do their best etc and whilst the main body of the film is better, the acting seems rather lacklustre. Robert Lowery just seems to coast along but Edward Brophy puts in a spirited characterful performance alongside him. Even Anne Gwynne outshines the lead even if she seems not to notice any of the danger or worry at all about what's going down. Maybe it's because she's had more terrifying jobs, like working with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. Not a total waste of time but it would have to be a very rainy Sunday afternoon.

Fire fighter Robert Lowery is tapped for the arson squad. He starts to investigate a series of suspicious fires and the death of his predecessor, while wooing school teacher Anne Gwynne. He goes undercover to join mysterious Douglas Fowley's gang, working with firebug Edward Brophy.

Since it was a Lippert film, I went in without particularly high expectations, and thus wound up enjoying this mediocre B movie, directed by William Berke. Despite its 61-minute length, it seemed to drag for sizable sections, although players like Marcia Mae Jones, Maude Eburne, and Byron Foulgar did their best to keep me entertained, and the final efforts of the fire company to get there before the place burned down was something that D. W. Griffith would have been content with. Perhaps editor Edward Mann deserves some blame, but what could he have cut to speed up the pace without reducing it to a three-reeler?

Interesting little film offering an unusual topic, a firemen story, a fire fighter also a lead invesigator about an arson case. Arson is not new in thriller category, but this one is really fast paced, thrilling, a good William Berke's flick, better than many othets he made in the past and even later. Solid story, above average production for this kind of stuff, yes, a very good little gem. I guess only a handful of movie buffs know this film. Robert Lowery is a bland actor who shines here, compared to what he did in most of the other films he played in. A good gem to discover, it is worth watching.

An eager young fireman played by Robert Lowery suspects arson in a store fire and he's got good reason to think so. His suspicions are confirmed and he gets a promotion to the arson investigation squad. The job gets doubly dangerous when a previous arson investigator is killed and his briefcase containing all his investigation notes go missing.

The trail leads to insurance investigator Douglas Fowley who has a sweet little kickback racket going about his insured clients kicking back money from their settlements to Fowley.

Fowley even supplies his own torch in the person of roly poly character actor Edward Brophy. Usually Brophy played good natured mugs in films and he starts out that way here. But he's far more dangerous than Lowery originally thinks.

In its short running time Arson, Inc. does deliver the entertainment goods. There's not a frame of film wasted and it's nicely edited, unusual for film from a poverty row studio like Lippert Pictures. Look also for a nice performance from Maud Eburne as the wise cracking grandma for Lowery's girlfriend Anne Gwynne.

But it's Brophy who really steals the show. It's a side of him rarely seen on screen.

ARSON, INC. is a very low-budget film and its obvious for several reasons. First, almost everyone in the film are unknowns other than Eddie Brophy in a supporting role. Brophy was in the latter part of his career and wasn't exactly a huge name, but at least he's a recognizable actor. Second, occasionally the dialog and acting are very poor--especially the prologue and epilogue by the fire chief. He had the acting talent of a tomato and the dialog they had him read was definitely the worst in the film.

As for the rest of the film, it's a reasonably interesting movie about an arson investigation. It seems that quite a few suspicious fires have occurred lately and it appears to be the work of organized crime. And, when people are killed, it's up to the hero to go undercover and learn who's responsible. Interesting and rather reminiscent of the film LOAN SHARK in plot--which is bundled on the same DVD as ARSON, INC..

By the way, the best aspect of the film was the comic relief by Maude Eburne (playing "Grandma"). She was exceptional and the few times she was in the film, it really brightened the whole thing up.

Overall, a decent little low-budget time-passer and that's about it.