Loan Shark (1952)

At the request of factory owners and union leaders, a tough ex-con infiltrates a gang of loan sharks who are preying on financially desperate factory workers.

Director:

Seymour Friedman

Writers:

Eugene Ling (screenplay), Martin Rackin (story and screenplay)

Stars:

George Raft, Dorothy Hart, Paul Stewart

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Raft	...	Joe Gargen
Dorothy Hart	...	Ann Nelson
Paul Stewart	...	Lou Donelli
John Hoyt	...	Vince Phillips
Helen Westcott	...	Martha Haines
Henry Slate	...	Paul Nelson
Russell Johnson	...	Charlie Thompson
Margia Dean	...	Ivy
Benny Baker	...	Tubby
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Walter Kerr (as Larry Dobkin)

Storyline

A vicious loan shark ring has been preying on factory workers. When several workers at a tire factory suffer violence at the hands of the loan sharkers, a union leader and the factory owner try to recruit ex-con Joe Gargan to infiltrate to the gang. At first Joe does not want to get involved, but changes his mind when his brother-in-law dies at the hands of a savage loan shark hood. Joe works his way into the mob, but in order to keep his cover, Joe can't tell anyone what he is up to. This results in him being disowned by his sister and girl friend.

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Plot Keywords:

loan shark | union leader | job interview | neighbor | fistfight | 

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Taglines:

He knew every racket's strength . . . and every woman's weakness!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les requins font la loi

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Encore Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Dorothy Hart (I).

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Goofs

The actor killed in the final sequence can be seen reacting twice to being shot in different angles BEFORE the shot is actually fired.

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Connections

Referenced in Dirty Money: Payday (2018)

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Soundtracks

Peru
by Victor Young and Edward Heyman

User Reviews

Debt Over Your Head

Loan Shark finds George Raft an ex-con come to live with his sister Helen Westcott after his release. Their neighbor and secretary to the owner of the factory where Westcott's husband is employed, Dorothy Hart puts in a good word for Raft for a job.

Owner Charles Meredith has a special job in mind for Raft, investigating and finding out who's behind a group of loan sharks who have been putting many of his employees in their debt. Raft doesn't want this kind of work, but changes his mind when his brother-in-law Bill Phipps is killed.

But unfortunately this involves Raft going undercover and working for the gang until he can find out who the real boss is. He makes a lot of enemies, including Westcott and Hart until the job is done.

The film was done for B picture studio Lippert films and possibly at a major studio it would have had a lot of the plot holes filled. The writing could have used some improvement, but action goes along at a nice pace and Raft is perfectly cast in the hero part. During this time Raft was doing most of his work in B films and some of them are not bad at all. Loan Shark is one of them.