VICE SQUAD (1953)

United Artists distributed this Gramercy Pictures (II) production. Not a great film on the whole but the script has good pacing. Judging by the dynamic, dangerous opening score by Hershel Burke Gilbert one would get the idea you are about to watch a hardened crime story. But it is as lighthearted as it is gritty. And it is not gritty. Sterling Hayden is not in the cast. It portrays a busy day in the life of the police department with enough characters and sub-plots to suit a typical episodic television drama show some fifty years later.

The principal characters revealed in the film are related to one another in some way. The film lays all this out to resolve the main plot for the film, the murder of a police officer. Playing the police captain is Hollywood stalwart, Edward G. Robinson. It is a joy to watch him juggle the script's characters in and out of his precinct. The captain has experience on his side. Calm and compassionate, he can be tough if necessary, breaking with police protocol in order that justice is served. He deftly prioritizes the cases that arise and handles each with appropriate timing. Some encounters are rather humorous, especially the scenes with Percy Helton (below).

Known for his befuddled, confounded characters, Porter Hall (above) is simply exasperating here as a “respected” community businessman with no spine. His credentials usually can mask his illicit female encounters. He is not funny but his predicament is. He witnessed the murder of the police officer. His attorney, Barry Kelly, assures him of an early release from custody. Both get a few slick runarounds by Robinson with Kelly at his wits' end. Robinson is not letting Hall go until he gets the truth.

Jay Adler is perfect as the quintessential, nervous weasel with a season pass to the vice squad's interrogation room. Adler has information relevant to identifying the possible killers but his memory is foggy in fear of his own life. Robinson lets him sweat it out until his “fog” clears. With great reluctance he lets it slip about an upcoming bank robbery. Gilbert's pounding score is effective as the robbery is set to take place. Officers are positioned throughout the bank thanks to the Adler tip. This scene is fairly tense and exciting leading up to the attempted robbery. 

Paulette Goddard gets second billing here. I got the feeling she relished the part. The police captain and Goddard's character have a long mutual understanding. She runs a lady's escort “bureau” and has provided Robinson with valuable information over the years. Robinson gets the lead he needs to track down the laid-back lady's man, Adam Williams, the young buck in the gang with a thing for one of Goddard's ladies. This cool, quiet guy suddenly becomes a blue ribbon champion at a state fair's “Angry Yelling” contest once apprehended and questioned about who may have committed the policeman's murder. Perhaps he was bipolar all along.

The clichéd bank hostage gave Ed Binns a safer exit from the bank than his partners. There is wasted footage of him peering out his hideout window with a camera cut to the female hostage---each staring back at the other. No dialogue. Interspersed between other scenes, it repeats about three times. Silly with no added suspense. She comes up with a plan to distract him and thanks to a good bit of script timing, he leaves the warehouse silently horizontal.

Note: Percy Helton turns in a memorably humorous performance as one who is followed by shadows---television pictures all over him. Especially on Wednesdays. Because of more pressing issues, Robinson keeps Helton patiently waiting. He is aware of Helton's condition and compassionately states he simply needs a “witness” to legally have the police look into the matter. Helton sincerely has no clue how to find one. Robinson suggests someone, a local doctor of psychology. Helton is highly encouraged.