Raid contre la pègre

An interesting tidbit about this film is the appearance of New Orleans painter, James Belton Bonsall as a deputy. Bonsall was living in California at the time and had some minor connections to the movie industry. He appears in this film (and in some of the advertising posters) smashing slot machines with a sledge hammer. Inasmuch as the adverts for this film are more accessible than copies of the film itself, Bonsall's minor role becomes effectively more significant. Bonsall died in 1999 without children, leaving his artwork as his primary legacy. It is not known whether he appeared in any other films, though he did a bit of stage acting, and was cast in a New Orleans production of "The Grass Harp" by Capote.

Based on fact (and with appearances by several of the actual people involved), this tells the story of a police chief appointed by the state of Louisiana to rid its state police force of entrenched corruption. This is a taut, straightforward little film, in the tradition of "The Phenix City Story," and director Robert Gordon, while no Phil Karlson, does a good job on a limited budget and with a competent but non-star cast. Keith Andes is quite effective as the lawman who came up against a bit more than he expected, and Gene Evans (nice to see him in a good-guy role for once) complements him well as a state trooper who is as disgusted by the corruption as Andes is. An interesting story helped along by some sharp dialogue, tight pacing and good performances by most of the cast (there are a few less-than-inspired ones that tend to slow things down a bit, but not fatally) make this little-known film one to watch.

This movie is a good capture of the underworld crime in Louisiana during the prohibition era. It never made it big time because the acting is not top notch. Looking beyond that there is an excellent recall of how Louisiana, and particularly one man, handled the crime bosses of Louisiana. It is of particular interest to me because a large number of my family served as extras.

where can I find this movie , I saw it years ago in the 50's- --is it on video? or DVD?

anyone know where I can locate a copy?

I would love to have a copy, I have been searching for years for a copy of this movie Dam Citizen- I was excited to find this site, and hopefully I can locate a copy of this movie,

it is based on a true story and it is like watching history in action. if anyone knows where I can locate a copy of Dam Citizen, please email me that would make my day,

been looking for years, I had decided it has been destroyed

thanks echamb6269@aol.com