A Crime Does Not Pay Subject: They're Always Caught (1938)

Shows the role the crime laboratory plays in the solving of cases, and how even the smallest detail can become a major clue.

Director:

Harold S. Bucquet

Writers:

John C. Higgins (story), John C. Higgins (screenplay)

Stars:

Stanley Ridges, John Eldredge, Louis Jean Heydt

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stanley Ridges	...	Doctor John Pritchart
John Eldredge	...	Jimmy Stark
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Eddie Diesel
Charles Waldron	...	Mayor Fletcher

Storyline

An honest mayor sets out to clean up graft and corruption in a big city, but when he sees through a headline-grabbing prosecutor who's only going after the small fry, he's in danger. Enter Dr. John Pritchard, who heads up the city's crime lab. He methodically sifts through evidence, uses a spectrograph, looks for fibers and grains of gunpowder, and finally cracks the case. But does his own ability put him in danger?

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Plot Keywords:

city | corruption | prosecutor | gunpowder | evidence | 

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Genres:

Crime | Short

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

They're Always Caught

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Kid Glove Killer (1942)

User Reviews

Crime Does Not Pay

They're Always Caught (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Another nice entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series. This time out a tough Mayor is trying to get all the corruption out of the city. He learns that the D.A. is working with a crime lord so he asks for his resignation. Later that night the D.A. plants a bomb in the Mayor's car, killing him and throwing blame on an innocent man. It seems like an easy case but the latest technologies make it far from being over. This short seemed to be made just to show criminals that there are new ways for them to get caught. The use of hair, fingernails and dust was something new back then and it was nice seeing the way the equipment was used to gather all the evidence. This film does a nice job at breaking everything down where people back then would be able to understand what was going on even though by doing this the actual story of the film takes a few hits. This film would later be remade as KID GLOVE KILLER but I've yet to see it to compare how close they are. Received an Oscar-nomination.