Wynne Gibson Movies

Based on the writings of popular crime author Dashiell Hammett, this installment of the Emmy Award-winning Westinghouse Studio One series tells the tale of a slain murderer, and the subsequent hunt to capture the killer who slew him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Tom Conway makes his second appearance as amateur sleuth Tom Lawrence, aka "The Falcon", in RKO Radio's The Falcon Strikes Back. Framed for the theft of valuable war bonds, Lawrence hides out at a country resort. Here he discovers that Mia Bruger (Rita Corday), who engineered the frame, has been murdered by persons unknown. Snooping around a bit, Lawrence uncovers an insidious and widespred war-bond racket. The revelation of the murderer's identity will come as a jolt to fans of old 2-reel comedies. Atmospherically directed by Edward Dmytryk (who obviously had his eye on bigger projects), The Falcon Strikes Back costars Harriet Hilliard, better known to TV fans as Mrs. Ozzie Nelson. As a bonus, there's a plug for Walt Disney, who was then releasing his product through RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this action film, an officer is thrown off the force by his father the chief of police. The bitter ex-cop then joins a racketeering operation. The ring leader assigns him to drive a truck-load of armed hoods to ambush his father. Unbeknownst to the crooks, the ex-cop is still active on the force. The whole affair was a ruse to capture them. The brave cop succeeds in warning his peers of the ambush and the bad-guys die in a hail of bullets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

From the same folks who brought us My Son is a Criminal comes the near-lookalike property My Son is Guilty. Veteran police patrolman Tim Kelly (Harry Carey) despairs over the antics of his ne'er-do-well son Ritzy (Bruce Cabot), who prefers to live life in the fast lane. Released from prison after getting mixed up with mob activities, Ritzy promises his dad that he'll try to reform, but before long he's back with a bad crowd, compounding his misdeeds by plotting the demise of his own father. Meanwhile, Ritzy's sweetheart Julia Allen (Jacqueline Wells) gives up on the lad entirely, preferring a much safer relationship with young author Barney (Glenn Ford, in one of his first major roles). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an undercover cop infiltrates a crime syndicate being run by an incarcerated mob boss who conducts his business via a short-wave radio concealed in his cell. The boss is caught and placed in solitary confinement. The cop, the boss's physical double, takes his place. Soon changes in the gang's activities are subtly made. The "boss" orders his mob to keep careful records of their activities. Ostensibly, this is to make the organization more businesslike, but of course, it is really to gather enough evidence to convict them all. Trouble ensues when the real boss escapes from jail. A shoot-out ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this gangster movie, a criminal king-pin and his gang hide out in his hometown where they witness a religious revival that inspires the man to begin billing himself as a "born-again" evangelist so he can cash in on the guilty consciences of local businessmen. At first he keeps it all for himself, but eventually his conscience kicks in and uses the money for good. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A policeman is able to learn about the activities of a criminal gang when he gets dishonorably discharged. ~ All Movie Guide

Though not the most versatile of actors, granite-jawed Jack Holt does just fine with a dual role in Columbia's Trapped by G-Men. It all begins when FBI agent Bill Donovan (Holt), a dead ringer for notorious criminal Martin Galloway (also Holt), is sent to prison to gain the confidence of interred mob functionary Drake (Jack LaRue). Still posing as Galloway, Donovan stage-manages a jailbreak with Drake, the better to follow the criminal to the hideout of gangster leader Kilgour (C. Henry Gordon). Inevitably, one of the minor hoodlums exposes Donovan's true identity, and for a while it looks as though our hero is going to be ventilated with lead. Dragged in for an 11th-hour romantic subplot is the classy Wynne Gibson as female fed agent Alice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this four-hanky drama, a young wife is desperate to save her foundering marriage and so takes in two adorable foundlings, a boy and his paralyzed sister. The woman arranges for the poor little girl to have an operation. At first, the woman only does this to sway the judge in her favor, but in time, she comes to truly love the kids. In the end, she keeps them both and her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Admirals All was based on the British stage farce by Ian Hay and Stephen-King-Hall. Wynne Gibson takes over from the stage version's Laura La Plante as temperamental American movie star Gloria Gunn. While on board a battleship for publicity purposes, Gloria is kidnapped by a band of comic-opera Chinese pirates. Even though no one is particularly anxious to get the girl back, gormless petty officer Dingle (Gordon Harker) scurries off to her rescue (Dingle was but a minor character in the play, but Harker was a major box-office draw). George Curzon, best remembered as the eye-twitching murderer in Hitchcock's Young and Innocent, scores a comic bull's-eye as the oafish pirate captain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although it is included in TV's "Shock Theater" passage, there's nothing overtly frightening about the heavily plotted Universal melodrama The Crosby Case. Even while the opening credits are rolling, the audience is introduced to the five main suspects in the murder of a certain Mr. Crosby. Police inspector Thomas (Alan Dinehart) believes that Lynn Ashton (Wynne Gibson), an ex-lover of the victim, is the most likely suspect, though the audience is encouraged not to discount the elderly, seemingly frail Lubeck (Edward Van Sloan), oafish thief Collins (Warren Hymer), heavily-in-debt gambler Willie (John Wray), or even avuncular nightclub doorman Costello (J. Farrell McDonald). The story is a mosaic of flashbacks and flat cuts, the sort that would be hailed as "new" and "innovational" when Citizen Kane was released seven years later. Like RKO Radio's unrelated Ann Vickers, The Crosby Case has gained latter-day fame (or notoriety) with its subtle allusions to an illegal abortion. And yes, that is Walter Brennan in the ship's-stateroom scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Frederick Nebel (of "Torchy Blane" fame), Sleepers East is largely set on a train bound for New York. The plot is set in motion by the murder trial of a man accused of killing a politician. The defendant intended to pull the trigger, but the murder was actually committed by someone else. The DA, however, isn't interested in facts: He's been ordered by the local political machine to railroad the defendant into the electric chair. The only person who can clear the poor fellow is witness Lena Karelson (Wynne Gibson), an ex-convict who is being transported to New York by train under an assumed name to prevent her death at the hands of hired gunmen. Unhappy at being a political pawn, Lena tries to escape from her bodyguards in the company of man-with-a-past Jason Everett (Preston S. Foster). She gets her chance during a train wreck, but ultimately realizes that unless she shows up to testify, she will never be able to live with herself. Sleepers East was remade in 1941 as the "Michael Shayne" series entry Sleepers West. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide