Yes, the photography is the star here, going out on the street and giving an outstanding view of what locations looked like in the early 1930's. In a sense, it's a precursor to TV crime dramas of the 1960's and 70's, particularly "Adam 12", "The Streets of San Francisco" and "C.H.I.P.'s". Tim McCoy, a star of B westerns, escapes from that genre, playing a rookie cop who finds himself a hero by being in the right place at the right time to hold up the right side of the law.
An outstanding opening involving a shootout gets everything going, and there's no time to be let down because it never slows down. He deals with the presence of escaped master criminal Edwin Maxwell, a "man of many faces" who poses as a doctor while plotting his revenge on wounded cop Wallis Clark, the father of Evelyn Knapp whom McCoy has a crush on. It is obvious by the time that this is over, he'll get papa's approval for being an all-around good guy.
The way the camera moves really takes you out onto the street and you feel like you are part of the action. The industrial locations that this was filmed in, perhaps in the valley outside Los Angeles, shows what the city look like before it was truly built up. The acting is serviceable but the action makes this a B programmer that deserves credit for its technical excellence.
Of the actors, Maxwell stands out as the lead villain, with Harold Huber as a boyfriend of Knapp's who seems to be in the know ofwhat is going on with the prison escape and Maxwell's whereabouts and intentions. One amusing scenario has McCoy eating a separated couple where the father picked up the son from school, faced with a kidnapping charge, and McCoy playing marital counselor so he doesn't have to make an arrest. Quite worth a viewing if you are lucky enough to find it.
An outstanding opening involving a shootout gets everything going, and there's no time to be let down because it never slows down. He deals with the presence of escaped master criminal Edwin Maxwell, a "man of many faces" who poses as a doctor while plotting his revenge on wounded cop Wallis Clark, the father of Evelyn Knapp whom McCoy has a crush on. It is obvious by the time that this is over, he'll get papa's approval for being an all-around good guy.
The way the camera moves really takes you out onto the street and you feel like you are part of the action. The industrial locations that this was filmed in, perhaps in the valley outside Los Angeles, shows what the city look like before it was truly built up. The acting is serviceable but the action makes this a B programmer that deserves credit for its technical excellence.
Of the actors, Maxwell stands out as the lead villain, with Harold Huber as a boyfriend of Knapp's who seems to be in the know ofwhat is going on with the prison escape and Maxwell's whereabouts and intentions. One amusing scenario has McCoy eating a separated couple where the father picked up the son from school, faced with a kidnapping charge, and McCoy playing marital counselor so he doesn't have to make an arrest. Quite worth a viewing if you are lucky enough to find it.
