They're Always Caught

"They're Always Caught" is one of the best films from the exceptional "Crime Does Not Pay" series from MGM. These shorts are almost all uniformly well made and interesting and hold up well today. However, of all the shorts I've seen so far, this one is among the very best--and that's saying a lot.

This short begins with the election of a new mayor. The new mayor is tough and wants to clean up the city. And, in light of this, one of the first things he does is fire the district attorney--a guy who is quick to sing his own praises but who is incompetent or on the take. But this D.A. is clever--before the mayor has a chance to tell anyone else, his car explodes--and it's not the D.A. who is an ex but the mayor! Unfortunately for some poor schnook, it appears as if he's done it--and the D.A. is quick to capitalize on this and swears to convict the guy--even though there is plenty of investigation to go!

What makes this episode so special is the emphasis on forensics. And, what's more interesting is how advanced they were back in 1938. You'll see the investigators going step by step explaining their work and showing exactly how such an investigation is done. Fascinating throughout--and very informative. Well written and acted as well. Strongly recommended.

The always interesting "Crime Does Not Pay" series from MGM, running from 1935 to 1947, checks in with an interesting tale of a crusading mayor, his betrayal and murder, a man who looks guilty but isn't , and the role of forensic science in solving the crime.

Always part dramatic, part documentary, these 20 minute shorts do a pretty good job of showing empathy when it is appropriate tempered with justice. In this case, the short focuses on the role of science in solving the crime. The mayor is killed with a car bomb and the culprit thinks the explosion will erase all evidence. But careful evidence collection by the police, the test tube, the microscope, and the spectrograph give the police a clear view of why the chief suspect could not be guilty, and who the actual murderer is. With a dramatic conclusion, think of it as Quincy M.E., 1938 without the colorful Jack Klugman.

When reform mayor Charles Waldron is blown up with a car bomb by crooked aide John Eldredge, Louis Jean Heydt is accused and picked up. However crime lab scientist Stanley Ridges won't call anyone guilty without real proof. When he has it, though, the evil-doers will discover that CRIME DOES NOT PAY.

This entry in the long-running MGM series can be considered a precursor of all those science-based mystery shows that have become so popular in the past few years. In shows like BONES and CSI, it's always science that figures out whodunnit, and this was good enough to get an Oscar nomination and an expansion a few years later into the feature KID GLOVE KILLER.

It's remarkably low-key for the series, which often culminated in gun battles, fires and attendant deaths. The decision not to have any -- Waldron aside, and that happens offscreen -- it doesn't need it.

I have watched a few of the Crime Does Not pay series and by far this is the best episode of the series. I am amazed that even in the 1930's science had already begun to take giant leaps in assisting criminal investigations to solve crimes. Okay so the archaic use of a simple microscope to verify strands of clothing may not be record breaking but the way these forensic scientists solved the crime by looking very closely at the minimal evidence the car bomb left behind was unique and as a result I was intrigued.

Great acting and a great episode. A must see.

I give it an IMDB rating of 8 out of 10.

Mayor Fletcher is cleaning house. He's firing corrupt officials and canceling contracts. He's taking down rackets. Small business owner Eddie Diesel is tired of paying off the crooks and tries to contact the mayor at his home. Meanwhile the mayor fires prosecutor Jimmy Stark for taking bribes and letting off major crime leaders. The mayor is killed by a car bomb in his garage and the police arrests Eddie. Dr. John Pritchard uses scientific investigation techniques to solve the case.

This is part of MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series. It was nominated for the Oscars. The crime story is rather stiff and the acting is also a little stiff. It's functional and then there is the CSI second half. They haven't invented the rock music montage yet but it's still fascinating to see. This feels somewhat like an industrial movie at times.