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by | Dec 19, 2023 | Morning Glory

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Shoot to Kill, also known as Police Reporter, is a 1947 American film noir directed by William Berke and starring Robert Kent, Luana Walters, Edmund MacDonald and Russell Wade.[1]

Plot

Pursued by police cars, a fleeing motor vehicle crashes off the side of the road. The survivor relates the events that preceded the chase in flashback format. A former gangster is framed by a corrupt district attorney. With his wife and an investigative reporter, he gathers proof of his innocence in hopes of clearing his name.

Cast

  • Russell Wade as investigative reporter George "Mitch" Mitchell
  • Luana Walters (billed as Susan Walters) as Marian Langdon - Logan's wife
  • Edmund MacDonald as the corrupt Asst. DA, Lawrence Dale
  • Robert Kent (billed as Douglas Blackley) as former gangster "Dixie" Logan aka Judge Joel Conroy
  • Vince Barnett as Charlie Gill - Janitor
  • Nestor Paiva as Gus Miller - Gangster
  • Charles Trowbridge as District Attorney John Forsythe
  • Harry Brown as Jim Forman - Paid witness
  • Ted Hecht as Al Collins - Paid witness
  • Harry Cheshire as Mike Blake - Gangster
  • Robert Riordan as Ed Carter
  • Joe Devlin as Smokey, Man Tailing Dale
  • Eddie Foster as Bingo, Man Tailing Dale
  • Frank O'Connor as Deputy Clem Sparks
  • Sammy Stein as Blackie
  • Gene Rodgers as Piano Player

Reception

The New York Times panned the film, writing: "Screeching tires and the barking of guns are the chief sound effects in Shoot to Kill, an all-around amateurish job of movie-making which found its way into the Rialto yesterday. An outfit called Screen Guild Productions is responsible for this dilly about an assistant district attorney who double-crosses all his racketeer pals and winds up his career on a slab in the morgue. William Berke as the director-producer did not get anything resembling a performance, much less characterization, out of his players, chief of whom are Russell Wade, Susan Walters, Edmund MacDonald and Douglas Blackley."[2]

Soundtrack

Gene Rodgers appears on screen performing two of his own compositions: "Ballad of the Bayou" and "Rajah's Blues." The film's score was provided by Darrell Calker.

References

  1. ^ Shoot to Kill at IMDb.
  2. ^ The New York Times, film review, May 17, 1947. Accessed: July 13, 2013.
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