Crime Ring

Crime Ring (1938)

** (out of 4)

Bland crime-drama from RKO has a few interesting spots but not enough to make it a winner. Reporter Joe Ryan (Allan Lane) decides to bring down a ring of fake fortune tellers so he hires a few actresses to pose as them in order to crack the group of thieves running it all. CRIME RING isn't a bad movie but it's certainly far from a good one and there's no question that the studio wasn't putting too much effort into this picture, which more than likely was a second or third bill. At just 70-minutes the movie is paced good enough to where it never gets boring and there's no doubt that there are a few interesting ideas brought up in the screenplay. I thought the entire racket of fake fortune tellers could have made for a more interesting story but it seems the writers weren't trying to do anything special and instead they were just going by-the-numbers. The majority of these crime picture clichés are on full display and the twists and turns in the story are never going to catch you off guard. Lane isn't too bad as the reporter and he's at least fun enough to help keep the film moving. I also enjoyed Frances Mercer as the main actress who helps the D.A. and Clara Blandick is good as a grieving wife and mother trying to connect with her dead loved ones. CRIME RING is mainly going to appeal to fans of "B" movies as all others should just stay clear.