"Vice Squad" is a nice little docudrama about a day in the life of Vice Squad Captain Barney Barnaby (Edward G. Robinson).
The film opens with Al Barkis (Edward Binns) and Pete Monk (Lee Van Cleef) hot wiring a car for an unknown purpose. A beat cop comes upon them and tries to stop them but is shot. Unbeknownst to the killers, a meek little man Jack Hartrampf (Porter Hall) witnesses the crime. As the squad cars arrive Hartrampf is arrested and is taken to HQ.
Capt. Barnaby arrives the next morning and begins his investigation by grilling the beleaguered Hartramph. Barnaby learns that Hartramph had been "carrying on" with an unknown lady behind the scenes. His lawyer, Dwight Foreman (Barry Kelley) assures him that he will get off for lack of evidence and that Hartrampf's wife needn't know of his discretion.
Barnaby suspects that Hartrampf knows more than he is telling. Aware that the man is innocent of the crime, he nevertheless conspires to keep him in custody until he can unravel the mystery surrounding the shooting. A snitch, Frankie Pierce (Jay Adler) tells Barnaby that he has heard of an impending bank robbery about to take place.
We are next shown the gang's preparations for the heist. The Barkis gang, which also includes a reluctant Marty Kosalitch (Adam Williams) finalize their plans. Meanwhile, Barnaby continues with his investigation and learns that Vicki Webb (John Vohs) is the lady with whom Hartrampf has been keeping company.
The bank robbery is foiled by the police but Kosalich backs out just before the robbery attempt. In their escape the gang takes sweet young Carol Lawson (Mary Ellen Kay) hostage.
Barnaby enlists the aid of Mona Ross (Paulette Goddard) an "escort service" Madam to help him track down the whereabouts of the gang. Barnaby tricks Hartrampf into identifying Kosalitch as the killer, forcing him to reveal the hiding place of the gang. Fearing for the safety of the hostage, Barnaby closes in on the gang and.........................
Robinson as always, is better than his material. Although this was not an "A" feature, Robinson's performance along with those of Porter Hall, Barry Kelley, Edward Binns et al raise the quality of the film. Paulette Goddard, once a stunning beauty was now showing her age and would soon retire from films. Her role here is minimal.
An excellent little film.
The film opens with Al Barkis (Edward Binns) and Pete Monk (Lee Van Cleef) hot wiring a car for an unknown purpose. A beat cop comes upon them and tries to stop them but is shot. Unbeknownst to the killers, a meek little man Jack Hartrampf (Porter Hall) witnesses the crime. As the squad cars arrive Hartrampf is arrested and is taken to HQ.
Capt. Barnaby arrives the next morning and begins his investigation by grilling the beleaguered Hartramph. Barnaby learns that Hartramph had been "carrying on" with an unknown lady behind the scenes. His lawyer, Dwight Foreman (Barry Kelley) assures him that he will get off for lack of evidence and that Hartrampf's wife needn't know of his discretion.
Barnaby suspects that Hartrampf knows more than he is telling. Aware that the man is innocent of the crime, he nevertheless conspires to keep him in custody until he can unravel the mystery surrounding the shooting. A snitch, Frankie Pierce (Jay Adler) tells Barnaby that he has heard of an impending bank robbery about to take place.
We are next shown the gang's preparations for the heist. The Barkis gang, which also includes a reluctant Marty Kosalitch (Adam Williams) finalize their plans. Meanwhile, Barnaby continues with his investigation and learns that Vicki Webb (John Vohs) is the lady with whom Hartrampf has been keeping company.
The bank robbery is foiled by the police but Kosalich backs out just before the robbery attempt. In their escape the gang takes sweet young Carol Lawson (Mary Ellen Kay) hostage.
Barnaby enlists the aid of Mona Ross (Paulette Goddard) an "escort service" Madam to help him track down the whereabouts of the gang. Barnaby tricks Hartrampf into identifying Kosalitch as the killer, forcing him to reveal the hiding place of the gang. Fearing for the safety of the hostage, Barnaby closes in on the gang and.........................
Robinson as always, is better than his material. Although this was not an "A" feature, Robinson's performance along with those of Porter Hall, Barry Kelley, Edward Binns et al raise the quality of the film. Paulette Goddard, once a stunning beauty was now showing her age and would soon retire from films. Her role here is minimal.
An excellent little film.