Lub sij hawm uas phom sij (1950)

I’m continuing with watching some old Alan Ladd movies that I first saw thirty years ago on American Movie Classics (AMC), Thaum twg lawv tsom classic tsos. Kuv nyuam qhuav saib Lub sij hawm uas phom sij (1950), uas yog entertaining li thaum kuv txog nws.

Paramount duab tso tawm Lub sij hawm uas phom sij (affiliate link) in London in 1950 tab sis tsis tso nws nyob hauv teb chaws Mis Kas no kom 1951. The film tells the story of the murder of a Postal Inspector. The inspector stumbled upon a plan to rob a mail truck and was killed by Joe Regas, played by Jack Webb, and George Soderquist, played by Harry Morgan. Webb and Morgan would partner up again in the 1950s hit television show, Dragnet.

The Postal Service assigns Postal Inspector Al Goddard, played by Alan Ladd, to solve the murder. Goddard is jaded by his years dealing with criminals and doesn’t have much of a personal life. His supervisor tells Goddard, “I believe you’ll solve it because you’re a good cop, Al. But that’s about all you are.”

Regas and Soderquist were observed near the scene where the body was dumped by a Catholic nun, Sister Augustine portrayed by Phyllis Calvert. Goddard convinces Sister Augustine to go back to Gary, Indiana, the site of the murder, by quoting the failure to do your duty is a sin. When Sister Augustine says she likes the saying, Goddard thoughtlessly replies it is a quotation from Martin Luther. Sister Augustine replies, “From his earlier writings, no doubt.”

Due to his superior investigative skills, Goddard is able to infiltrate the robbery gang. When Goddard suspects one of the gang has targeted Sister Augustine, he has second thoughts about convincing her to come back to Gary. Goddard can’t poke a hole in Sister Augustine’s basic goodness and is clearly affected by someone “without an angle”. Goddard will have to make some different choices to protect Sister Augustine and capture the gang.

Jack Webb gives a riveting performance as the sinister killer Joe Regas, who eliminates his partner with an unusual murder weapon. Regas seems to have no problem with killing Sister Augustine to eliminate a witness. Regas is a sharp contrast to the role of Los Angeles Police Detective Joe Friday on Dragnet.

Webb played Friday from 1951 – 1959. Dragnet was also popular on radio. Friday was a strict, “by the book” detective, who always did the right thing. He just wanted the facts. Friday’s “Just the facts, ma’am” would become part of the popular culture.

This role would make Webb a household name and lead to a second career as a television writer and producer. Besides acting in Dragnet, Webb created the series and wrote a number of episodes.

Lub sij hawm uas phom sij sau hais txog 90 feeb. A quick moving crime thriller, it is available for rental on Amazon Prime. Qhia rau kuv paub seb koj xav li cas txog naam.

Koj yuav tawm ib saib los nug cov lus nug txog qhov no, los yog tej qho hauv tshooj nram qab no, ntawm kuv Facebook phab thiab Twitter profile.

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