Car Crimes
An MGM CRIME DOES NOT PAY Short Subject.
Living in the luxury provided by robbing parked motorists provides A THRILL FOR THELMA--until the Law starts to close in...
This was the fourth entrant in MGM's series illustrating the futility of crime. Some of the acting is reasonably good and the production values are competent, making the brief film an enjoyable time filler. All of the players are unbilled--William Tannen appears as the MGM Reporter; sturdy Robert Warwick plays the police captain; and Irene Hervey is the luckless Thelma. A fine bit of acting is provided by Robert Livingston as Thelma's violent lover.
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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.
Living in the luxury provided by robbing parked motorists provides A THRILL FOR THELMA--until the Law starts to close in...
This was the fourth entrant in MGM's series illustrating the futility of crime. Some of the acting is reasonably good and the production values are competent, making the brief film an enjoyable time filler. All of the players are unbilled--William Tannen appears as the MGM Reporter; sturdy Robert Warwick plays the police captain; and Irene Hervey is the luckless Thelma. A fine bit of acting is provided by Robert Livingston as Thelma's violent lover.
**********************************
Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.
- Ron Oliver
- Oct 31, 2004