Crime Does Not Pay was an MGM anthology crime film series of shorts that ran from 1935 to 1947. Each episode was around 20 minutes in length and composer-conductor John Gart provided the music. Each installment began with an actor appearing as "your MGM crime reporter" introducing a law-enforcement official, who would inform the audience of a current criminal trend sweeping the country: drunk driving, underage crime, unscrupulous businessmen, scam artists, and so on. A case history of one such example would be shown. The approach was always dramatic with sobering, ironic, or bleak outcomes, from arrest and incarceration to disfigurement and death.

MGM used the series as a training ground for its young contract players, and cast each film with notable character actors. None of the major MGM stars appeared in the series, but some players who began in the series later became stars: Irene Hervey, Tom Neal, Marsha Hunt, Stephen McNally, Barry Nelson. The very first film, Buried Loot (1935), faced a crisis when the actor cast in the leading role fell ill just before filming. The last-minute substitute was a young man named Spangler Brugh, who had appeared anonymously in screen tests opposite young actresses. MGM called in "the test boy" for Buried Loot, and his performance resulted in promotion to feature films, stardom, and a 24-year tenure at the studio. His screen name became Robert Taylor.

Crime Does Not Pay later spawned a radio series of the same name. The radio show was recorded and broadcast at MGM's New York station, WMGM. Written by Ira Marion and directed by Marx B. Loeb, it aired for two years (October 10, 1949-October 10, 1951), including repeats. It moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System for its final run (January 7-December 22, 1952).[1] For the most part, B movie actors were featured but occasionally one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance. These included Bela Lugosi, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, John Loder and Lionel Stander. After the play, the actors usually returned to speak with the audience as themselves.

Film series episodes

A 1944 Crime Does Not Pay short with studio newcomers Audrey Totter and Tom Trout was expanded into a 57-minute feature film, Main Street After Dark (released 1945), with new footage of Edward Arnold as a police detective.

Home video

The Warner Archive Collection has released the entire series of 50 shorts on DVD-R as Crime Does Not Pay: The Complete Shorts Collection. Some episodes can also be found as extras on DVDs and Blu-rays of classic MGM films of the period:

  • The Public Pays is on Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
  • Drunk Driving is on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
  • Jack Pot is on I Love You Again (1940)
  • Don't Talk is on Random Harvest (1942)
  • For the Common Defense! is on Mrs. Miniver (1942)
  • Purity Squad is on Without Love (1945)
  • The Luckiest Guy in the World is on Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
  • Women in Hiding, You, the People, Forbidden Passage, A Gun in His Hand and The Luckiest Guy in the World are on the documentary Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006). This was originally a bonus DVD in the "Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 3" box set.

References

  1. ↑ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
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