Summaries

A detective goes after a ring of phony "mediums" who are trying to swindle a rich widow out of her fortune.

Told in semi-documentary style, this film deals with a little-known section of the Los Angeles Police Department which is assigned solely to checking on the activities of fortune tellers, swamis, palmists, and other occult societies, missing only Sciencetology. The primary story has L.A. police detectives Steve Johnson and 'Mack' McManus tracking down a wave of suicides they think have been influenced by swindler-murderer Anthony Wells, who runs a pretentious house staffed with occultists across the board and is trying to embezzle from Jessica Royle, a wealthy widow whose son was killed in action in World War II. Johnson uses his actress fiancée Grace Bradshaw as an undercover operative to get inside information.—Les Adams <[email protected]>

Details

Keywords
  • detective
  • widow
  • hollywood california
  • wealth
  • episodic structure
Genres
  • Mystery
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Film-Noir
Release date Aug 31, 1950
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Approved
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations 1442 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA
Production companies RKO Radio Pictures

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 7m
Color Black and White
Aspect ratio 1.37 : 1

Synopsis

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