Crime, Inc.

Crime, Inc.
Film poster
Directed byLew Landers
Written byRaymond L. Schrock (screenplay)
Martin Mooney (story Crime Incorporated)
Produced byLeon Fromkess (producer)
Martin Mooney (associate producer)
StarringLeo Carrillo
Tom Neal
Martha Tilton
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Edited byRoy V. Livingston
Music byWalter Greene
Production
company
PRC Pictures
Distributed byProducers Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • April 15, 1945 (1945-04-15) (United States)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Crime, Inc. is a 1945 American film noir crime film directed by Lew Landers starring Leo Carrillo, Tom Neal and Martha Tilton.

Plot summary

The film, based on a story by former crime reporter Martin Mooney, is about a newspaper journalist who faces prison time because he refuses to name his sources. To complicate matters more, the reporter falls in love with the sister of one of the racketeers he's trying to take down.

Cast

Production

Martin Mooney’s 1935 book Crime Incorporated—written after he served a brief jail term for protecting confidential sources—provided the germ of the screenplay and gave the film its publicity hook.[1] PRC producer Leon Fromkess secured Mooney as associate producer to lend authenticity, while assigning veteran B-movie director Lew Landers to keep the shoot within a reported 10-day schedule and a negative cost slightly higher than PRC’s 1944 average.[2]

Filming

Principal photography took place at PRC’s Hollywood facilities in late December 1944 and January 1945. Cinematographer James S. Brown Jr. used low-key lighting and extensive back-projection to stretch sets and create an urban atmosphere on limited sound-stage acreage.[3]

Release

Crime, Inc. opened on April 15, 1945 in New York City at the Rialto Theatre. According to Motion Picture Daily, the picture earned approximately US$6,000 in its second and final week, a modest but acceptable take for a dual-bill programmer on Broadway.[4]

Censorship

Days before a planned Chicago premiere, the city’s Police Motion Picture Censor Board banned the film outright, objecting to its depiction of municipal corruption. PRC appealed to Police Commissioner James Allman, arguing that the picture had already passed New York state censors without cuts.[5] The ban was lifted after minor dialogue trims, and the film subsequently played a successful engagement at the Garrick Theatre.

Soundtrack

  • Martha Tilton - "I'm Guilty" (Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans)
  • Martha Tilton - "Lonely Little Camera Girl" (Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans)
  • Martha Tilton - "What a Fool I Was" (Written by Marla Shelton and Nacio Porter Brown as Nacio Porter Brown Jr.)
  • "That's It" (Written by Marla Shelton and Nacio Porter Brown as Nacio Porter Brown Jr.)

Legacy

By the 1970s the film’s copyright was not renewed, and it has since entered the public domain in the United States; numerous budget labels have issued it on VHS, DVD and digital platforms.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Martin Mooney Profile" (PDF). Hollywood Motion Picture Review. February 8, 1946. p. 16.
  2. ^ "Product Digest: Crime, Inc.". Motion Picture Herald. January 13, 1945. p. 6.
  3. ^ "'Crime, Inc.' review". The Film Daily. February 26, 1945. p. 6453.
  4. ^ "Box-office reports: New York". Motion Picture Daily. July 2, 1945. p. 347.
  5. ^ "Chi Censor Board Bans 2nd Crime, Inc.". Variety. April 4, 1945. p. 144.
  6. ^ "Public-domain noir roundup". Filmfax. August 1992. p. 54.

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