Dans les griffes du gang

Original title: The True Story of Lynn Stuart

1958
Approved
1h 18m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

When the nephew and his friend of Phyllis Carter are killed in an automobile crash while under the influence of narcotics, she persuades Police Lieutenant Jim Hagan to use her as an undercov... Read allWhen the nephew and his friend of Phyllis Carter are killed in an automobile crash while under the influence of narcotics, she persuades Police Lieutenant Jim Hagan to use her as an undercover agent, despite the fact she is married and has a young son. She is trained to impersona... Read allWhen the nephew and his friend of Phyllis Carter are killed in an automobile crash while under the influence of narcotics, she persuades Police Lieutenant Jim Hagan to use her as an undercover agent, despite the fact she is married and has a young son. She is trained to impersonate "Lynn Stuart", who did time for a bank hold-up, and is given a job at a drive-in restau... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

212

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos12

+ 5

Top cast63

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Betsy Palmer

Phyllis Carter - aka Lynn Stuart

Jack Lord

Willie Down

Barry Atwater

Police Lt. Jim Hagan

Barbara Aler

Carhop
(uncredited)

Lionel Ames

Salesman
(uncredited)

John Anderson

Doc
(uncredited)

Martin Balk

Bit Role
(uncredited)

Jimmy Bates

Pin Boy
(uncredited)

Frank Bella

Bit Role
(uncredited)

Ward Brant

Professional Bowler
(uncredited)

Edmund G. Brown

Self - Edmund G. Brown (in prologue)
(uncredited)

Claudia Bryar

Nora Efron
(uncredited)

Richard Bull

Customs Officer
(uncredited)

Anita Carrell

Buyer
(uncredited)

Mack Chandler

1st Gas Station Attendant
(uncredited)

Linda Cherney

Linda - Car Hop
(uncredited)

Tom Coleman

Bailiff at Coroner's Inquest
(uncredited)

Samuel Colt

Sam - 2nd Gas Station Attendant
(uncredited)

Director
- Lewis Seiler
Writers
- John Kneubuhl
- Pat Michaels
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews6

6.4212

Featured reviews

10vilenciaproductions

True Story Indeed! Love this great picture! You will too!

This picture rocks! Bought a 16mm print of this great movie and we're projecting it again for 2021! Love Betsy Palmer, Love Jack Lord! Love Edmund G. Brown! Sure wish we had a guy like him around today! Film director Lewis Seiler does an excellent job at the helm, turns out to be his last film! What a shame! See it on film if you can! The best way to watch a great black and white motion picture! Another gem from Columbia Pictures! Can't wait until the projector and screen are set up! Now where did I put that darn old Covid-19 mask?

lor_

Great casting: Jack Lord & Betsy Palmer

Just as Raymond Burr was a fine movie heavy during the Film Noir period, only to become a TV hero in "Perry Mason" and "Ironside", here is Jack Lord utterly convincing as a cold-blooded smooth gangster baddie, before being immortalized in "Hawaii 5-0" (plus cult fave "Stoney Burke").

Title role is a real-life housewife who volunteered to go undercover to unmask the mob running drugs from Mexico to Los Angeles. Casting wholesome Betsy Palmer (rather than a blonde bombshell moll of the era, like Cleo Moore or Mamie Van Doren) was a great move, since she's pretty enough to pose as a drive-in waitress turned gangster moll, yet fitting the bill as a loving mother in dangerous territory.

B-movie veteran director Lewis Seiler does a smooth job, realistically unfolding the story details and packing a ton of suspense (and red herrings) in the final reels. And as the gangster boss is John Anderson, underplaying in a rare malevolent role for the friendly-looking character actor.

7mls4182

In praise of Betsy Palmer

Betsy Palmer proves she deserved bigger film roles. She is quite lovely but more importantly, she turns in a very good dramatic performance in this film.

While some aspects of this film are dated, it is still dramatic and suspenseful. You'll be shocked society had such a problem 60 years ago.

8mackjay2

A Pleasant Surprise

Surprisingly well-done true-life crime thriller from the late 50s. Based on a real character and her story, this is a tight little noir-tinged film. Lynn Stuart's is a woman so disgusted by drug-related crime in her area that she volunteers to go undercover with police. Betsy Palmer is excellent as Stuart. She has to play a gun-moll type convincingly, and it's pretty amazing that Stuart pulled it off in real life with no experience whatsoever. Also well cast is Jack Lord as the crime boss Stuart flirts into a romantic relationship with her. He's cold-blooded and Stuart soon finds herself in a very bad situation, made worse by her own family problems. The film moves along nicely and believably. Look for TV and movie regular John Anderson as the stone-faced kingpin and Gavin MacLeod in a small role, twelve years before he joined Mary Tyler Moore's sitcom

6boblipton

Ripped From the Headlines

Columbia goes to a series of newspaper articles about the drug traffic in this story about upper middle class housewife Betsey Palmer volunteering to go undercover for the narcotics squad. The sincerity of the story telling and, indeed, Miss Palmer's acting, manage to overcome a few holes in logic, like her ability to impersonate an ex-con after studying a list of junkie slang.

Basically the understated night-life photography of Burnett Guffey and a large cast of skilled if little-known screen actors of all ages -- including Snub Pollard and Eddie Le Veque as well as Jack Lord as the lead drug dealer -- manage to keep this interesting enough to overcome the problem. Plus Miss Palmer is gorgeous. It's a pity she didn't get a chance to be in more movies until a quarter century later, but she had plenty of work in TV.

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The story is based on actual facts. The woman known as Lynn Stuart served as technical adviser for the film, masking herself when visiting the set.

Goofs
The veteran cop refers to the well-known Orange County CA community as Garden Groves (plural), instead of its actual name of Garden Grove.

Quotes
[first lines]
Edmund G. Brown: I am Edmund G. Brown, the attorney general of the state of California. The constitution of this state designates me as the chief law officer and head of the state's Department of Justice. One of the most important bureaus in the Department of Justice is the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. As attorney general, I know that drug traffic and drug addiction go hand-in-hand with crime in general. Not only are narcotic violations the leading felonies in most of our counties, but more than 30% of all other crimes committed - such as murder, robbery, burglary, and assault - are directly attributable to the drug traffic. The story you are about to see is true. It's an almost unbelievable true story. It took place in Orange County, California, comprising the city of Newport Beach, with beautiful Balboa Bay; Laguna Beach, the artistic center of the west; the famous San Juan Capistrano mission; and the city of Santa Ana, it's county seat. Because of what happened, somewhere in these United States is an attractive 30-year-old housewife with an underworld price tag on her head - a death sentence passed by the men who control this country's narcotics traffic.