They're Always Caught (1938) User Reviews

Flesh this story out to an hour and you'd have a pretty good B feature!

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 8 December 2019]

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.

old school CSI

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 17 February 2016]

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.

Harbinger of CSI

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 2 March 2008]

This particular episode of Crime Does Not Pay anticipates the success of the CSI series by over 60 years. In fact the film was expanded later on to a feature film Kid Glove Killer that starred Van Heflin.

Louis Jean Heydt is neatly framed as the killer, nay assassin, of Mayor Charles Waldron. But a dedicated police forensic scientist, Stanley Ridges, comes up with evidence in the police laboratory that clears Heydt.

But Ridges isn't satisfied with that alone. In a move worthy of CSI he traps the real killer John Eldredge. Proving once again for the movie going public that Crime Does Not Pay.

They're Always Caught was nominated in the Short Subject category in 1938. The title evokes a nice sentiment and folks back then really did believe it.

No town is cleaned up without casualties.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 30 November 2015]

When a crusading mayor cleans up city hall, it's obvious that the law will end up cleaning up after him...his corpse that is! But City Hall is still inflicted with corruption, trusted employees who were terminated by the mayor the night before his murder, and they continue to deceive others thanks to their presumed innocence. Local corruption is even more widespread than national or international corruption, and even more vicious because trusted friends are the guilty ones in the determination to keep racketeering and vice alive. This is a very timely short that is an important reminder to vote, keep a strict eye on all elected leaders, and especially identify the private citizens whose pockets these officials are stuffing their hands into. Stanley Ridges, a fairly well known character actor, gets a rare lead as the laboratory doctor and is excellent.

"Put down that gun. You look silly."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 20 September 2016]

A city's new mayor is a hard-nosed old cuss who's tough on crime. Naturally someone croaks him. The police use some newfangled scientific methods to solve the crime. A good entry in the Crime Does Not Pay series. Really neat seeing the police using scientific techniques not too far removed from today's. Most movies from back in those days tended to focus only on the he-man aspects of crime fighting, shoot-outs and roughing up suspects and so on. Nice to see some brains to go with the brawn. Fine cast of character actors that includes John Eldredge, Louis Jean Heydt, and Stanley Ridges helps a lot too. Best scene is when the cops trick the killer into letting them vacuum his hair for evidence. That has to be seen to be believed.

Amazing when seen 75 years later.

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 13 November 2013]

"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.

For the 1930's we can see how forensic science was on its way to crippling criminals in their tracks

[Ed-Shullivan · 8/10 · 21 May 2020]

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.

Crime Does Not Pay

[Michael_Elliott · 26 September 2009]

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.

The Scientific Method

[boblipton · 8/10 · 7 December 2019]

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.