This MGM crime flick unfolds in three parts. The first part concerns itself with a bunch of recruits at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Primarily, the action focuses on a trio played by Ralph Meeker, Robert Horton and Jeff Richards. Meeker is a brash upstart who can't seem to follow orders or hold on to a woman; Horton is a stable family man with a worried wife and young son; and Richards is the sensitive type who gets in over his head. These are different men, but they bond.
Away from training they socialize at Horton's home or spend lazy weekends at a city park. After their training concludes, they are all assigned to menial jobs they detest. Longing for action, they sign up for a course that will turn them into traffic enforcers, basically motorcycle cops. There are sequences that depict them learning to operate motorbikes efficiently.
The instructors are played by MGM stalwarts James Craig and Keenan Wynn. While Mr. Craig's role is merely an extended cameo, Mr. Wynn has considerably more to do. This is because he decides to take Meeker under his wing, seeing the same rough edges in him that he had when started on the force in the late 1930s. Wynn is very good in this film, providing one-liners and paternal wisdom.
The second part of the film sees the young men now full-fledged motorcycle cops. There are bits with them on their bikes, pulling people over for speeding, etc. At the end of a shift one fateful day, Richards and Meeker are riding together when a suspicious truck is seen speeding. Meeker's bike stalls, so Richards goes after the truck alone. In a shocking scene he is murdered by the truckers after pulling them over to investigate what's in the back of their rig.
Of course Meeker feels guilty about what happened, since he was not with his buddy at the time of the murder. Richards has left a few clues behind. Meeker and Horton ask to be put undercover to bring the culprits to justice. At the same time, Horton's wife (Sally Forrest) is still getting used to her husband's dangerous career.
The third part of the film involves a climactic sequence where Meeker has caught up to the truckers and followed them to a hideout. It is revealed the truckers are mixed up in a cattle rustling scheme. At the hideout, Meeker calls for backup and the operator issues a Code Two, which alerts Horton and other officers that this is an urgent situation and to proceed immediately.
Before Horton and additional backup arrive, Meeker and the killers engage in a huge brawl inside a warehouse. One of the killers falls into a vat full of quicklime and dies a most gruesome death.
In some ways this procedural police film seems inspired by Jack Webb's "Dragnet" which had already been a hit on radio and early television. It has elements of noir and melodrama. Incidentally, the police codes used by law enforcement were initially developed in the 1930s, then were significantly revised in the 1970s. If you are listening to police radio, you may hear a Code Two being issued.
Away from training they socialize at Horton's home or spend lazy weekends at a city park. After their training concludes, they are all assigned to menial jobs they detest. Longing for action, they sign up for a course that will turn them into traffic enforcers, basically motorcycle cops. There are sequences that depict them learning to operate motorbikes efficiently.
The instructors are played by MGM stalwarts James Craig and Keenan Wynn. While Mr. Craig's role is merely an extended cameo, Mr. Wynn has considerably more to do. This is because he decides to take Meeker under his wing, seeing the same rough edges in him that he had when started on the force in the late 1930s. Wynn is very good in this film, providing one-liners and paternal wisdom.
The second part of the film sees the young men now full-fledged motorcycle cops. There are bits with them on their bikes, pulling people over for speeding, etc. At the end of a shift one fateful day, Richards and Meeker are riding together when a suspicious truck is seen speeding. Meeker's bike stalls, so Richards goes after the truck alone. In a shocking scene he is murdered by the truckers after pulling them over to investigate what's in the back of their rig.
Of course Meeker feels guilty about what happened, since he was not with his buddy at the time of the murder. Richards has left a few clues behind. Meeker and Horton ask to be put undercover to bring the culprits to justice. At the same time, Horton's wife (Sally Forrest) is still getting used to her husband's dangerous career.
The third part of the film involves a climactic sequence where Meeker has caught up to the truckers and followed them to a hideout. It is revealed the truckers are mixed up in a cattle rustling scheme. At the hideout, Meeker calls for backup and the operator issues a Code Two, which alerts Horton and other officers that this is an urgent situation and to proceed immediately.
Before Horton and additional backup arrive, Meeker and the killers engage in a huge brawl inside a warehouse. One of the killers falls into a vat full of quicklime and dies a most gruesome death.
In some ways this procedural police film seems inspired by Jack Webb's "Dragnet" which had already been a hit on radio and early television. It has elements of noir and melodrama. Incidentally, the police codes used by law enforcement were initially developed in the 1930s, then were significantly revised in the 1970s. If you are listening to police radio, you may hear a Code Two being issued.