***SPOILERS*** Tom Neal is crusading crime reporter Jim Riley who's connection with mobster Bugs Kelly, Danny Morton, who's being pressured to join the syndicate. It's the Idreaded syndicate who controls most of the politicians as well as police in the state as well as D.A's office. Being an independent mobster who doesn't like to take orders as well as kick back to the syndicate Buggs signs his own death warrant when he has syndicate big shot Pat Coyle, Lionel Atwill, kidnapped and held for a $100,000.00 ransom in order to get it off his back. With the syndicate coming to Coyles rescue, by finding him and killing his captors,Bugs end up on the syndicate's sh*t end of the stick when he's tracked down with one of his goons in a Conley island wax museum and gunned down has he sitting in a fake electric chair having a smoke.
Meanwhile Jim got to know and fall in love with Bugs sister night club singer Betty Van Cleve, Martha Tilton, who just happened to be the late Bug's sister who had no idea what her brother, he told her he was an insurance agent, was involved in. On top of all that Jim is now under investigation by the local D.A in what he knew, if anything, about Bug's murder and who was responsible for it. Playing it safe Jim now also in the cross hair of the syndicate ends up going on his own in order to get the goods on it before he ends up getting rubbed out, like his friend Bugs, for knowing too much.
***SPOILERS*** Using 1945 state of the art electronics and photography Jim gets the evidence on the syndicate as well as those in the police and city and state politics that it controls just when he was about to get indited for withholding evidence in Bugs' murder. And it was a number of those in the police and D.A's office who were prosecuting Jim who ended up getting busted for using their office to do the syndicate bidding! With his job done and the bad guys now safely behind bars Jim can now concentrate on hooking up Betty by getting married and putting all of this-Crime reporting- behind him. P.S It was later that year that Tom Neal was to star in what was to be his signature movie "Detour" that turned out to be one of the most significant "Film Noir" movies of that genre.
Meanwhile Jim got to know and fall in love with Bugs sister night club singer Betty Van Cleve, Martha Tilton, who just happened to be the late Bug's sister who had no idea what her brother, he told her he was an insurance agent, was involved in. On top of all that Jim is now under investigation by the local D.A in what he knew, if anything, about Bug's murder and who was responsible for it. Playing it safe Jim now also in the cross hair of the syndicate ends up going on his own in order to get the goods on it before he ends up getting rubbed out, like his friend Bugs, for knowing too much.
***SPOILERS*** Using 1945 state of the art electronics and photography Jim gets the evidence on the syndicate as well as those in the police and city and state politics that it controls just when he was about to get indited for withholding evidence in Bugs' murder. And it was a number of those in the police and D.A's office who were prosecuting Jim who ended up getting busted for using their office to do the syndicate bidding! With his job done and the bad guys now safely behind bars Jim can now concentrate on hooking up Betty by getting married and putting all of this-Crime reporting- behind him. P.S It was later that year that Tom Neal was to star in what was to be his signature movie "Detour" that turned out to be one of the most significant "Film Noir" movies of that genre.