Unpretentious and straightforward, B-movies and programmers are often more interesting to re-evaluate in retrospect than A-budget films, which tend to be restrained by convention in their pursuit of awards, audiences, and accolades. Vice Squad (1953) offers a case in point: It's an intriguing mix of two styles of crime dramas popular during the 1950s, and it marks an unfortunate juncture in star Edward G. Robinson's career. The latter also touches on a sad moment in American history as it concerns the blacklisting and graylisting of actors during the McCarthy Era.

Robinson was starring in Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) when he first ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the congressional committee dedicated to exposing Fascists and Communists in labor unions, New Deal agencies, and most famously Hollywood. The liberal Robinson objected to HUAC's treatment of the Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters, directors, and producers who openly criticized the Committee's existence and tactics. Robinson, along with Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, Danny Kaye, Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, and others, formed the Committee for the First Amendment to protest in Washington during the Hollywood Ten's 1947 appearances before HUAC. Shortly thereafter, tabloid journalist Howard Rushmore, who was making a career of testifying for HUAC about alleged Communist plots and figures, fingered Robinson as a Communist, testifying, "Ten years ago or more, he started joining one Communist front after another."

Over the next two years, Robinson was hounded by HUAC and haunted by insinuations and accusations of Communist affiliations, which were untrue. He was reportedly called to testify before HUAC four times, appearing for the last time on April 30, 1951. He brought along stacks of documents to prove his loyalty to America and to disprove any ties to communism. The Committee cleared the legendary actor, but the damage had already been done to his career. His name had been linked to Communist-front organizations by Red Channels, a 1950 booklet published by the right-wing journal Counterattack to accuse entertainers of Communist affiliations. Consequently, he was graylisted, meaning he was not officially banned by the industry, but word-of-mouth about the accusations resulted in no work from major studios or important producers. As Robinson noted in his autobiography, All My Yesterdays, ". . .I entered the "B" picture phase of my career as a movie star -- or former movie star. . . I was doomed, both by age and former political leanings, to a slow graveyard."

The period was not as desolate for Robinson as he painted it, because he not only found work in some solid B-films but also in television and on the stage. In 1951, he made a triumphant return to Broadway in Arthur Koestler's anti-Communist drama Darkness at Noon. Still, compared to his reputation and position as one of Hollywood's premiere stars during the 1940s, his career from 1948 to 1956 was definitely a step down. The trip to the "slow graveyard" ended in 1956 when Hollywood titan Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments, which reopened the doors to the major studios.

Based on the 1940s novel Harness Bull, Vice Squad was released during the Transition Era of Hollywood history when many independent producers and tiny production companies cropped up to take over low-budget filmmaking from the major studios. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Hollywood experienced a period of tumultuous change after the Supreme Court forced the studios to divest themselves of their theaters in a ruling known as the Paramount Decree. To solve cash flow problems, the studios altered their production strategies by dumping their B-units, let go of their hold over movie stars, and allowed many directors, producers, and actors out of their long-term contracts. Independent producers and small production companies picked up the slack, producing low-budget fare with out-of-contract actors. In 1947, Harness Bull had been purchased by Robinson's company, Thalia Productions, for independent producer Sol Lesser, but the actor's problems with HUAC interfered with his plans to produce his own films. In 1952, the property was sold to the newly formed independent production company Sequoia Pictures, which was owned by Lesser, Jules Levy, Arthur Gardner, and Arnold Laven. Though Robinson considered this period a step down to the B's, his fate might have been far worse had it not been for these changes in the industry.

If Robinson felt despair over his predicament, he did not let it interfere with his work ethic. Producer Arthur Gardner called him "the quintessential pro." The actor used his star image and charisma to add dimension to his character and approached the role of Police Captain Barnaby with energy and authority. Vice Squad represents a day in the life of tough, no-nonsense Captain Barnaby, who is called "Barney" by his associates. The film opens on the murder of a beat cop in the wee hours of the morning, and Barnaby inherits the case when he arrives for work. Throughout the day, Barnaby and his men track leads, interrogate the only witness, seek out informants, and follow up on a tip on a bank robbery, which turns out to be connected to the murder. At the end of the day, he captures the criminals and rescues the innocent victim. The film concludes with Barnaby offering a brisk, "See you in the morning, Lacey" to one of his coworkers, knowing that tomorrow will bring more of the same.

Paulette Goddard received second billing behind Robinson, though her role is a minor one. She plays Mona, the operator of an "escort service," which is clearly a brothel. Mona sometimes provides information to the police on shady underworld characters who frequent her business, and she helps Barnaby with a lead in exchange for money. Though only onscreen for a handful of scenes, Goddard offers a colorful portrayal of a smart woman in a tough business. Like Robinson, Goddard was experiencing a downward spiral in her career but for different reasons. Age and the lack of a studio contract made it difficult for her to secure decent roles. She made four forgettable films in 1953, the year of Vice Squad, and one drama the following year. She did not appear in a movie again until 1963. In between she married German novelist Erich Maria Remarque and relocated to Europe to enjoy a life of luxury.

Vice Squad reflects filmmaking trends of the time because it combines the characteristics of film noir and semi-documentary crime dramas. A noir-like visual style dominates the first half of the film when most of the criminal activity occurs and the underworld characters are introduced. The opening sequence occurs on a lonely, dark street in an unsavory part of town where two hoods are stealing a car. In the meantime, an older, unattractive man is leaving the nearby apartment of a young bleached blonde. Though no one mentions the word "prostitute," it's clear that she is a working girl. The man notices the attempted car theft and hides in the staircase, where deliberate, bar-like shadows suggest this witness is now trapped in a situation beyond his control. He watches as a policeman walks up to investigate the scene, only to be shot from behind by one of the thieves. The entire sequence is depicted in low-key lighting, nicely rendered by cinematographer Joseph Biroc. Captain Barnaby's office is depicted with the Venetian blind effect in which diagonal, slat-shaped shadows fall across the back wall--a common lighting motif in film noir. In a scene in which a snitch offers some information to Barnaby, bar shadows linger behind the jittery informant as he hastily offers a tip on an upcoming bank robbery. Later, when Barnaby discusses the case on the phone, a web-like shadow covers his face. In the garage hide-out of the criminal gang, low-key lighting creates a mysterious, foreboding atmosphere with shadows producing a disturbing, menacing effect. Though director Arnold Laven and Biroc don't seem to have a clear strategy behind their web and bar shadows, placing them behind thief and cop alike, they are clearly mimicking the film noir visual design of the era. Likewise, the depiction of a corrupt underworld of criminals, prostitutes, and informants echoes the situations in film noir, where the city is a cesspool of corruption and vice.

Another type of crime saga that developed during the late 1940s and 1950s was called the semi-documentary crime drama. Like film noir, these dramas painted the modern city as a place of temptation and corruption where contemporary urban life can be alienating and unsettling. However, stylistically, the semi-documentary crime drama was the opposite of film noir: They were generally shot on authentic locations during daylight, using a straightforward visual style and high-key, documentary-like lighting. Instead of featuring marginalized, fatalistic detectives who are taken in by femme fatales, these films focused on hard-working cops or agents who professionally and meticulously solved a case. The semi-documentary begins in the mid-1940s, paralleling film noir, and includes such titles as The House on 92nd Street (1945), Naked City (1948), and 13 Rue Madeleine (1947).

Captain Barnaby fits the mold of the semi-documentary protagonist, while the focus on methodical police procedures, such as questioning witnesses, arranging line-ups, following tips, and shaking down informants, reflects the structure of this type of crime drama. Stylistically, the second half of Vice Squad follows the semi-documentary style, particularly during the attempted bank robbery. The gang members stealthily approach the bank from different Los Angeles street corners, a sequence shot on authentic locations, while the police stake out the bank. The unglamorous, high-key lighting creates a natural, documentary look. Ultimately, the film noir and semi-documentary conventions don't really blend together seamlessly, but the fast-paced, day-in-the-life narrative and solid craftsmanship smoothes over the rough edges.

Though a forgotten crime drama to most, and a bitter note in Edward G. Robinson's career, Vice Squad reflects the Hollywood industry in transition and offers an interesting twist on filmmaking trends of the era.

Producers: Sol Lesser with Jules V. Levy and Arthur Gardner
Director: Arnold Laven
Screenplay: Lawrence Roman based on the novel Harness Bull by Leslie T. White
Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Editor: Arthur H. Nadel
Art Director: Carroll Clark
Costume Designer: Norma
Cast: Captain Barnaby (Edward G. Robinson), Mona Ross (Paulette Goddard), Ginny (K.T. Stevens), Jack Hartrampf (Porter Hall), Marty Kusalich (Adam Williams), Al Barkis (Edward Binns), Hartrampf's Lawyer (Barry Kelley), Pete Monty (Lee Van Cleef), Frankie Pierce (Jay Adler), Vickie Webb (Joan Vohs), Lieutenant Imlay (Dan Riss), Carol (May Ellen Kay).
BW-89m.

by Susan Doll