Double Cross (1941) User Reviews

Serious-minded crime film

[csteidler · 6/10 · 10 July 2011]

Young police officer Kane Richmond pretends to "go bad" in order to get in with the gang of crooks who corrupted and caused the death of his friend. Richmond even goes so far as to let his police captain father think he has disgraced the force. Things are made no less stressful by the fact that Richmond's girlfriend (Pauline Moore) has come to stay with the family since the death of her brother--that same best friend. No, it's not believable for a minute, but what the heck.

Wynne Gibson is top-billed here as the co-leader of the gambling ring who intends to put her new recruit to evil use and is in turn betrayed by her partner (the ever-villainous John Miljan). Mary Gordon is earnest as always as the mother and wife of policemen.

A little more levity might have livened this one up. As it turned out, it's basically an okay revenge picture whose familiar faces do more to recommend it than its plot or dialog.

a rare leading role for Wynne Gibson

[kidboots · 5/10 · 26 May 2008]

Wynne Gibson was always a dependable character actress, who didn't have many leads. She did have the lead in this one though and she pulled out all stops. This, unfortunately, was one of her last films.

John Miljan plays Taggart, owner of the seedy nightclub "The Silver Slipper". Steve Bronson (Richard Beach) a policeman, has been seeing Fay (Wynne Gibson) when he is caught in a raid on the club. Fay secretly takes his gun and shoots a policeman that is roughing up Taggart. When Steve wrestles the gun back he is shot and killed, but not before he tells the Chief of Police's son Jim Murray (Kane Richmond) that Fay is the "cop killer" and not him. He also wants Jim to bring Fay to justice and to get Jim's father to resign from the force. The mob at the "Silver Slipper" are planning to kill him as he was the one who originally ordered a clamp down on the club.

Taggart has the Mayor in his pocket and when Captain Murray is up for Commissioner, threatens to kill him if he meddles with his club. Taggart is also double crossing Fay - he has got her to confess to the killing while secretly recording her. Their showdown at the end is really fiery - they show everyone why they had such memorable careers.

Jim gets himself thrown off the force so he can infiltrate the Silver Slipper more easily. Ellen, sister of the dead policeman, is working in the club as a "picture taker". She snaps a picture of the Mayor accepting a bribe from Taggart.

I quite liked this film. There is a lot going on in it and the action doesn't let up from start to finish.

Pauline Moore, whose most prestigious film was Shirley Temple's "Heidi" (1938) plays Ellen. John Miljan, who had long and varied career, mostly playing crooks and shady types, plays Taggart, gangster owner of "The Silver Slipper".

"Hammer away Tom, this is one party worth crashing".

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 14 March 2010]

I get to watch a bunch of old time Western and Mystery/Crime flicks, and it's striking how the latter are much more unbelievable in terms of execution and common sense. While Westerns never stray very far from a tried and true hero vs villain formula, they at least carry a premise from start to finish that the viewer is able to follow pretty well. Mystery films of the Thirties and Forties on the other hand, often contain elements that simply defy any sort of credibility once they get under way. "Double Cross" starts out reasonably enough, but nosedives quicker than most with a second half that contains so much nonsense that it makes me wonder how movie audiences of the time put up with it. Of course today, it's a hoot to watch 'em, just because there's so much goofy stuff going on.

Here's something that threw me in the early going, not related to the above. When I first saw the character of Steve Bronson, I would have sworn it was Jack Webb in the role. The voice was a dead ringer, and it looked like it could have been him too, although now that I check, he would have been too young at the time. Still, I had to check the credits to see what it was all about.

There's no reason here to describe the story if you've seen it or read the other reviews on this board. I'd just like to point out some of the stuff to support my opening comments. Take for example, when Nick Taggart (John Miljan) nods assent to his henchmen to open fire on Police Captain Murray (Robert Homans) after Taggart leaves his office. Murray goes out of the room as another cop comes in to help out the Chief. As the bullets fly, said policeman stands up and looks out the window (first mistake), and is then struck and killed by the barrage. But when the Captain comes back into his office, the dead cop is slumped over the Captain's desk. How does that work?

Later on, Silver Slipper house photographer Ellen Bronson takes a picture of the Mayor taking a bribe from Nick Taggart through a transom above Taggart's door. Even considering Nick's lame explanation of a light bulb popping, how was he able to conclude that the film in Ellen's camera was a new roll?

Then there's that entire scene when Taggart gets completely fed up with his moll Fay (Wynne Gibson), the one where she smashes the recording of her confession of shooting a cop during the raid on the Silver Slipper. Taggart's henchman Cookie and Ellen are right there when he brings her to the room next door to kill her. Were they not supposed to figure out what Fay's scream was all about?

But it gets better. My favorite has to do with Taggart's attempt to set up Jim Murray (Kane Richmond) with a van load of stolen furs. During the chase scene, Taggart and his boys began firing on the cops following them, and they appeared to be shooting through some sort of opening in the rear of the truck. However an exterior view of the Dollar Van revealed that the outside walls of the vehicle were solid! The cops giving chase were shooting blind into the van, and wound up killing all the mobsters inside!

All of this would make my head hurt if it wasn't so downright comical. Which is why I don't take these films too seriously right from the get go. Every once in a while you get a really good crime drama from these Poverty Row productions, but more often than not, you wind up with something like this. I heartily recommend it.

By the book programmer has a couple of twists that keep it interesting

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 29 December 2008]

Kane Richmond is a cop who tries to get revenge on the gang that shot his friend and who have designs on taking out his father, a big wig on the force. Unremarkable programmer has just enough odd bits to keep things interesting. From the slacking off cop hanging around the illegal gambling club, to the cops machine gunning the bad guys to death there are just enough things to make this worth trying on a slow night. To be honest the film is actually a rather clichéd almost silly tale but every now and again its throws a curve ball to make you sit up and take notice. Odds are you'll only want to see this once so a rental would be in order, but I think you'll be amused for that one go through.

Healthy Beginning Peters Out To A Less Than Inspired Climax.

[rsoonsa · 5/10 · 21 November 2006]

The opening scenes of this film depict policeman Steve Bronson (Richard Beach) keeping company with Fay Saunders (Wynne Gibson), whom he believes is his girlfriend, at a night club, The Silver Slipper, when a squad from his Department raids into the rear of the establishment, wherein flourishes an illicit gambling salon, and while the club's owner Nick Taggart (John Miljan) grapples with officers, Fay removes Steve's revolver from its holster and kills a policeman, as her affection for her actual lover Taggart plainly extends beyond what might be considered natural. When Steve retrieves the murder weapon from false Fay he is, with pistol in hand, shot down by other officers, therewith apparently tagged as being a cop-killer, but this is not accepted by police dispatcher Jim Murray (Kane Richmond), son of the Captain in charge of the tragically suppressant raid, especially following his visit and conversation with Steve at the latter's hospital death bed, after which Jim is determined to bring Fay and Taggart to justice. While in the process of attempting to infiltrate Taggart's criminal organization, Jim is cashiered from his Department because his father can find no discernible legitimate cause for his son's involvement with the band of ne'er-do-wells, but young Murray persists with his clandestine investigation, sharing his plan with only his fiancée Ellen (Pauline Moore), Steve's sister, who gives him emotional support. When Jim discovers that Taggart is planning to assassinate the senior Murray, his scheme to bring the evildoers to bay must co-exist with a method of saving his father from a violent death, hoping that by success with both ventures he may achieve reinstatement as an officer. The initial sequences of the film are neatly constructed, with each of the principal characters along with their motivations being quickly and efficiently sketched and interconnected, but as the low budget PRC release, filmed in Los Angeles, continues, a series of leaden incongruities abound, with a viewer's interest being consequently reduced. Fine Serbian actor Miljan gains the acting laurels here for his polished technique in playing boss of the Forces of Evil and Richmond, of the square-jawed Richard Arlen mode of acting, is suitably heroic throughout, while from the distaff side, Gibson is by turns stiff and shrill, Moore is bland, and Mary Gordon performs comfortably within her characteristic Irish matriarchal part. Additionally, it is ever a pleasure to watch veteran supporting actor Frank Moran, former top-flight heavyweight boxing contender, who traveled the full distance in title bouts with Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. Here he is cast as a simple-minded Taggart henchman, albeit one with a heart of gold.

Par for the Course

[Hitchcoc · 4/10 · 3 April 2008]

This is one of those crime dramas where not much happens and the main character does things he should not be able to. It involves a self imposed undercover situation where a cop acts like he is going bad to get into a crime group. It is basically dull and silly. It has little if any suspense. The characters aren't all that attractive and the cause is a bit hard to swallow. There is a supposed thread of integrity at stake, but mostly it goes about going right where we think it will go. It's as if they needed to get the movie out without putting much time in on it. The actors sleepwalk and talk in little bursts. The B movie didn't demand much. I can see those kids on Saturday morning enjoying the car chases and the gunshots being fired. They really weren't much interested in a story.

A simple and agreeable B-movie—even with the brain-dead cliché near the end of the film.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 6 March 2014]

The film begins with a cop visiting his girlfriend. While this sounds innocent enough, it isn't---she's in a gambling dive. Why she's there and manipulates him into being there soon becomes evident when the police raid the place—and she sets him up to be killed! It seems that she is a real black widow of a woman! The dead man's partner happens to be the police Captain's son and the son decides to investigate the supposed 'accidental killing' by going undercover—way undercover. He pretends to show dissatisfaction with the police force and gets himself fired. Then, he goes to work for the baddie (John Miljan) in order to determine what really happened to his friend.

Aside from a REALLY dumb scene at the 50 minute mark, the film is actually pretty enjoyable as a cheap B-movie. This dumb scene is a cliché I HATE to see in movies—when someone threatens the big boss-man—telling the guy that they'll expose him for what he is. In 100% of the cases, the person making the threat is dead within about 3 seconds—and this case is no different. Think about it—your boss is completely evil and is responsible for countless atrocities and you tell him, when you two are alone, that you're going to the cops!! That's like telling Hannibal Lector that you are the other white meat! You KNOW what's bound to happen and it won't be good!!! But, brain-dead cliché or not, the film is interesting and a decent time-passer.

Forgettable

[dougdoepke · 2 September 2015]

Thoroughly routine PRC programmer, filmed in dreary pedestrian style. At least some atmospherics would have compensated for a patchwork script, erratic acting, and sloppy staging— for example, note the incredible "ducking bullets is for sissies" highway shoot-out, or the rope on Jim's hands that miraculously re-ties itself. But then this is PRC and they're probably on a three-day shooting schedule. Still, I suspect that with better material and more engaged direction, the cast would have delivered more respectable results.

No need to recap the plot, except that double-crosses abound. On the other hand, Richmond makes a handsome square-jawed hero, while Moore's lovely good girl Ellen resembles an unglamorized Hedy LaMarr. But above all there's Frank Moran as Cookie, with probably the friendliest ugly mug in Hollywood. They should have thrown more scenes his way since he's the movie's one notable feature. The two-shots with him and Ellen are like Beauty and the Beast and probably gave the director a few chuckles. Anyway, I can't say I didn't ask for disappointment by tuning in to what I knew was a PRC cheapo. Still, they did sometimes hit pay-dirt, as with the noir classic, Detour (1945). No such luck here. I suggest you skip this one, unless it's to catch the sublime Moran.

Beyond believability, but told with such style that it doesn't matter.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 20 November 2014]

Violent, tough, and fast moving, this early film noir like crime drama snaps, crackles and pops even though the plot is filled with more holes than a swiss cheese after a mouse has discovered it. Supposedly crooked cops involved in the illegal goings on behind the scenes of a popular nightclub have their careers destroyed thanks to their involvement with the tough-talking Wynne Gibson. The fact that she's obviously the moll of "big boss" John Miljan isn't enough of a stop sign to keep them from treading into tight-nit quarters with her.

On one raid, Gibson panics, pulls out the gun from the holster of current cop lover Richard Beach and shoots another cop dead so Miljan won't be shot at. Beach grabs it from her and the other cops instinctively shoot him even though he's in full uniform. His death discredits him as a traitor, and his best pal (Kane Richmond) plots a similar betrayal from the police force to clear it. Ironically, he's the son of Irish brogued chief Robert Homans (who is married to the very Scottish Mary Gordon), and his betrayal humiliates dad. Richmond's fiancée (Pauline Moore) is both the late Beach's sister and a photographer at Miljan's joint and this leads to speculation of mixed loyalties and too many hot connections between two organizations that despise each other.

For such an outlandish plot line, which just seems too far-fetched to ever really happen, to end up so enjoyable, praise must be given to the cast, director and even certain elements of the screenplay. Gibson, a tough veteran of bad girls (sometimes misunderstood, other times entirely too obvious), always delivered the goods, sort of a Mae West without the drag queen impersonation. In "Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men", she turned the life of a sap around; Here, she makes a sap out of one, and is fooled by another into thinking she can do the same thing again. Her confrontation scene with Miljan is one of the great film noir monologues, and her character holds no anger back. Even if the rest of the cast just simply walked through the film, she'd make this worth the price of admission.

The romantic pairing of Richmond and Moore is also notable here, as she is the only one really in on what his intentions are. The scene where pop Homans dismisses and humiliates Richmond is followed by an even more emotional one between Homans, Richmond, Moore and Gordon whose cries of anguish over losing her still living son is heartbreaking. So while this films has many flaws, there are so many things in it which have the potential of raising it up a notch, but after reflecting on it, the elements that pull the structure of the story together lower it down to a missed opportunity that have a grave impact on it as a whole.

For Kane Richmond and Robert Homans' fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 29 January 2014]

Whether known by its original title, "Double Cross", or its 16mm re-issue as "Motorcycle Squad", this movie is somewhat less than "B"-movie average. Filmed on a tightwad budget from a none too exciting and not particularly involving script, and enacted by a largely boring collection of players led by Kane Richmond and Robert Homans, and including, alas, John Miljan who makes no attempt (other than to enunciate his lines clearly) to invigorate what would seem to be an ideal role, the viewer has little to engage his attention (I use the masculine pronoun advisedly) but four or five members of the support cast, especially Heinie Conklin and Frank Moran who do their best to instill some life into a limp, stale plot. Admittedly, the screenwriter also tries a couple of new wrinkles by presenting the one-track-minded Captain Murray (appropriately overplayed by prolific "Irish" policeman character-player, Robert Homans), as a somewhat unpleasant martinet. I also like the way he ties in the gangsters with the mayoral elections – standard stuff certainly, but it does provide a window for under-rated character players William Halligan and Charles Miller (as the mayors) to gain our approval. Alas, the lead player, Wynne Gibson (born 1898), is unflatteringly photographed. And our lovely heroine, Pauline Moore (who supplants Wynne Gibson on the re-issue poster), is not always photographed to her advantage either, but I guess cinematographer Arthur Martinelli did his best in the obviously limited time he had available. Director Albert Kelley is unknown to me, even though he worked in Hollywood off and on from 1918 to 1953. Available on a very good Grapevine DVD, double-billed with "Roar of the Press".

Not that bad after all

[searchanddestroy-1 · 9 February 2023]

I expected far worse from this B crime flick from the early forties. It is action packed, good action scenes, well made for this kind of Poverty Row productions. Kane Richmond is also pretty good, thanks probably of his serial actor skills. The plot is predictable, of course, but who cares, if you are a gem digger, in search of old items to discover. Yes, try it, because it is worth and the acting is also convincing. I don't know the director, never heard of him before. There are many more of those little films whose rights are now in public domain, that makes them more available for moviegoers.