Double Cross


1h 1m 1941

Film Details

Also Known As
Motorcycle Squad
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Jun 27, 1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Producers Releasing Corp.
Distribution Company
Producers Releasing Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 1m
Film Length
5,834ft (7 reels)

Synopsis

At the Silver Slipper nightclub, police officer Steve Bronson visits his girl friend, Fay Saunders, who operates the club along with Nick Taggart, a powerful gangster. When the police raid the club, Fay grabs Steve's gun and shoots an officer, and the police fire back, hitting Steve. Fay blames the shooting on Steve, but at the hospital, Steve tells Jim Murray, his friend and fellow officer, that Fay double-crossed him. He warns that Jim's father, the police captain, will now be targeted for revenge by Taggart's men unless he leaves the department. Before Steve dies, Jim promises to speak to his father, but Capt. Murray does not believe him. Devising his own plan to clear Steve's name and protect his father, Jim tells his fiancée Ellen, Steve's sister and a photographer at the club, that he intends to infiltrate Taggart's gang. Meanwhile, the mayor, who is under pressure to promote his adversary, Capt. Murray, to police commissioner, accepts a bribe from Taggart to reopen the club. Taggart tries to enlist Capt. Murray's cooperation as well, but the captain strikes him and swears to keep shutting the club down. On his way out, Taggart gives a signal to his henchmen, who fire shots through Capt. Murray's window. Later, Jim transfers to the motorcycle squad in his father's precinct and, with Fay watching, provokes an altercation with another police officer, which results in Jim's dishonorable discharge from the department. Jim soon goes to work for Taggart, and proposes that the gang rob a storage loft in the fur district. The heist goes awry, however, when Jim sends henchmen Miggs and Cookie into the warehouse without disconnecting the alarm, which almost gets them arrested. Later, the mayor comes by to remind Taggart of his vow to get rid of Capt. Murray, whose reform efforts are threatening the mayor's re-election. As Ellen and Jim listen to the mayor's conversation from the hall, Ellen snaps a picture of the mayor accepting money from Taggart. After the mayor leaves, Taggart, who had heard the camera click, locks Ellen in his office and intercepts Jim at the camera shop where he has taken the film to be developed. Taggart then accuses Fay of trying to ruin him and plays a recording he secretly made of her admitting to shooting the police officer during the raid. Furious, Fay threatens to expose incriminating information about Taggart, and he stabs her to death. Soon after, Ellen and Jim are taken to the gang's hideout, where Taggart reveals his plan to use Jim as a decoy to lure Capt. Murray into an ambush. Taggart calls Capt. Murray and tells him that Jim will be driving a truckload of stolen goods along a certain route, unaware that Jim has managed to smuggle a radio set into the truck. While driving the truck, which is actually full of Taggart's heavily armed men, Jim knocks Miggs unconscious, then radios the police station and explains the situation. Capt. Murray, who had already figured out that his son was being framed, watches from the side of the road as police cars approach the truck and begin shooting. Taggart's men are killed, and Capt. Murray proudly pins Jim's badge on him and salutes him.

Film Details

Also Known As
Motorcycle Squad
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Jun 27, 1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Producers Releasing Corp.
Distribution Company
Producers Releasing Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 1m
Film Length
5,834ft (7 reels)

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Motorcycle Squad, which was also the title on the viewed print.