A Gun in His Hand

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A man joins the police force to learn police procedures with the intention of getting away with crimes.A man joins the police force to learn police procedures with the intention of getting away with crimes.A man joins the police force to learn police procedures with the intention of getting away with crimes.

Director
- Joseph Losey
Writers
- Richard H. Landau
- Charles F. Royal
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

326

YOUR RATING

Director
- Joseph Losey
Writers
- Richard H. Landau
- Charles F. Royal
Stars

12User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Photos22

+ 16

Top cast14

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Tom Trout

Police Officer Dennis Nordell

Richard Gaines

Police Inspector Dana

Anthony Caruso

Frankie
(as Tony Caruso)

Hugh Beaumont

Police Academy Graduate
(uncredited)

William Challee

Snorky
(uncredited)

Howard M. Mitchell

Police Car Driver
(uncredited)

Roger Moore

Police Instructor
(uncredited)

Robert Emmett O'Connor

Veteran Policeman Mc Guinnes
(uncredited)

Arthur Space

Calvin 'Whitey' Foster
(uncredited)

Harry Strang

Police Captain R. C. Johnson
(uncredited)

William Tannen

Police Lab Technician Wilson
(uncredited)

Ray Teal

Police Lt. O'Neill
(uncredited)

Charles C. Wilson

Chief of Police
(uncredited)

Harry Wilson

Ex-Con Thug
(uncredited)

Director
- Joseph Losey
Writers
- Richard H. Landau
- Charles F. Royal
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Part of the plot for this movie involves planning a second robbery after an officer calls the station from a "call box" to report a burglar alarm. Police call boxes were common for officers to use to report incidents or receive assignments from the late 19th century until the 1960s, by which time the use of police radios were the industry standard.

Goofs
The weight of the green wax sample is stated to be "one-one thousandth of a milligram." A scale with this accuracy, if one even existed in 1945, would have cost well-beyond the means of a police station's budget. The statement likely should have been either "one-one thousandth of a gram" or "one milligram."

Connections
Followed by Purity Squad (1945)

User reviews12

Review

Featured review

6/10

Dishonest Cop

Tom Trout is a new graduate from the police academy. His future looks bright. He led the class in many of his subjects. He is also a crook. He had a clean record and figured that the best way to plan a crime is to learn how the police investigate one. Can he be on to something, or will he learn, as many a studio audience has, that CRIME DOES NOT PAY?

This short subject was nominated for an Oscar and it's easy to see why in retrospect. It very daringly concerns itself with police malfeasance. It's a common enough complaint these days, but in an era where the gang wars of Prohibition were not far away, the idea that the foot soldier in the fight against crime might be a problem was a shocker. Usually corruption, pay-offs from the hoods spread from the top in the popular mind.

The MGM back lot sure looks darker and more foreboding here than it does in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.