Wow! Such a good movie.

Charming and brutal

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is one of those cheap Poverty Row second features that holds some interest for fans of old movies mostly because of one or two supporting actors. Ray Walker is a cocky young fighter who has agreed to take a dive, but, being frustrated by the bell and his opponent needling him throughout the fight, knocks him out, earning the ire of the local hoods. When he gets clobbered by a cop in an exhibition fight, he decides that the sort of training he can get at the police gym will put the polish on his boxing and allow him to court pretty nurse, Geneva Mitchell. However, paired with amiable Russ Clark, he gradually becomes a decent cop, even if he's unwilling to shoot at old friends.Walker's brash act is annoying and the story is bog standard, but there are a couple of actors worth looking at. One is silent comic Snub Pollard in a straight role as a low-level hood, almost unrecognizable without his trademark mustache. Virginia True Boardman plays Evans mother and perennial B western bad guy Hooper Atchley has a non-villainous role. None of these make this movie particularly worthwhile; director Eugene Cummings in his sole movie credit doesn't seem to have much talent as a dialogue director. It's just another of the several thousand cheap movies that played on the bottom of double or triple bills and then vanished.

THE CRIME PATROL is a poverty row production from America, made in 1936 and an addition to the cops 'n' criminals genre. The main character is a boxer who falls foul of a top gangster when he refuses to take a dive. Tiring of his life in the ring, he decides instead to become a policeman, allowing him to take the fight directly to the villains.It's not a bad story per se, but sadly THE CRIME PATROL never rises above the doldrums in its quest to entertain the viewer. The lack of money available is all too apparent in the general poor quality of the production and the lacklustre performances from the weak leads, whose brash style of acting quickly becomes wearying for the viewer. At least it's over quickly.

Ray Walker is cast in the lead as boxer Bob Neal. Neal is an amiable mug, with no direction, other than being the best boxer he can be. His pals are all bums and crooks. He likes a pretty nurse (Geneva Mitchell) but she's not interested because of his lifestyle and associates. Bob's father was a policeman who died while fighting crime. His mother hopes he will follow in his father's footsteps someday and become a policeman.Eventually Bob joins the police force because of the expert training he'll receive. His selfish attitude begins to soften when he starts to realize his old gang are ruthless criminals. The final showdown comes after the gang steal a shipment of furs. Bob pretends to be on the take in order to save two other policemen. He double crosses the gang and wins the gratitude of the force and the affection of the nurse.This is no lost gem. The story is rather weak, the fight scenes are not convincing. Yet it plays out fast and is never boring. The two leads, Walker and Mitchell, are particularly good. Although neither would be considered attractive both can really act, which is not always the case in poverty row.

A rather dumb boxer is friendly with some local hoods. This bothers his mother, as she has visions of him becoming a policeman like his father but he's adamantly against joining the force--thinking the police were a bunch of wimps. However when a boxing cop beats him soundly in a fight, he naturally drops everything and joins the force!! Then he needs to come to terms with his friends. Should he be loyalty to these jerks or the police force to which he's taken an oath to serve? In the 1930s and 40s, many small studios specialized in making what were termed "B-movies"--second and less expensive films from a double feature. These films were generally entertaining and not especially deep--often having shaky plots and second tier actors. However, many of them were still great films and are well worth your time. I actually prefer B-films in many cases to the A ones because they had few pretenses and were just plain fun. Unfortunately, if you didn't know that B-movies were often still good films, then if you saw CRIME PATROL you might incorrectly assume they stink. That's because while it did feature the usual staples of a B, such as "no-name" actors, a short length (59 minutes) and a breezy plot, the film was so cheap and so poorly constructed that it got to be a chore to keep watching. The biggest problem is that the plot is built around a guy who is a professional boxer, yet he fights like someone who has never learned how--wildly flailing his arms and offering no defense whatsoever. I am not a fan of boxing, but it was obvious that this guy would have a hard time beating up my mother let alone another boxer! Plus the film has a lot of silly acting and logical errors. The only positive and redeeming factor is one that most likely won't matter to you, as I was thrilled to see a great old silent comedian (Snub Pollard) playing a straight role as a hoodlum. Surprisingly, Pollard did a pretty good job in his speaking roles--hiding the fact that he was an Aussie. Still, this isn't reason enough to see the film.