Crime Does Not Pay (film and radio series)
Crime Does Not Pay is an MGM anthology crime film series of shorts that ran from 1935 to 1947.
Background
Each film runs approximately 20 minutes in length and begins with an actor appearing as "your MGM crime reporter" introducing a law-enforcement official who would inform the audience of a criminal trend such as drunk driving, juvenile delinquency and fraud that would form the basis of the episode. The dramatic episodes resolved with sobering, ironic or bleak outcomes for the perpetrators.MGM used the series as a training ground for its young contract players and cast each film primarily with character actors, although several stars appeared, including Van Johnson, J. Carrol Naish, Leon Ames, Laraine Day, Darryl Hickman, Bela Lugosi and Ed Begley. Some of the unknown actors in the series' episodes would later find feature-film success, such as Audrey Totter, Irene Hervey, Tom Neal, Marsha Hunt, Stephen McNally and Barry Nelson. The most famous of these was Robert Taylor, who appeared in the first film in the series, Buried Loot, under his real name of Spangler Brugh as an emergency replacement for an actor who had fallen ill just before filming. Taylor had been an MGM "test boy" whose job was to be filmed opposite various young ingenues for screen tests.
Crime Does Not Pay later spawned a radio series of the same name, 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, including repeats. It moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System for its final run.
Film series episodes
Buried Loot with Robert TaylorAlibi Racket with Edward Norris and Alan BridgeDesert Death with Raymond HattonA Thrill for Thelma with Irene Hervey and Robert LivingstonHit-and-Run Driver with George Walcott and William GouldThe Perfect Set-Up with William Henry, Helene Chadwick, Frank Shannon, and Robert DudleyFoolproof with Niles Welch and Alonzo PriceThe Public Pays with Richard AlexanderTorture Money, with Edwin Maxwell and George LynnIt May Happen to You, with J. Carrol NaishSoak the Poor with Leslie Fenton and Leon AmesGive Till It Hurts with Janet Beecher, Clay Clement, and Howard HickmanBehind the Criminal with Edward Emerson, Walter Kingsford, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Joe SawyerWhat Price Safety! with Lionel Royce, George Huston, and John WrayMiracle Money with John Miljan, Boyd Crawford, Robert Middlemass, and Fred WarrenCome Across with Bernard Nedell, Bernadene Hayes, Rita La Roy, and Donald DouglasA Criminal Is Born with George Breakston and David DurandThey're Always Caught, with Stanley Ridges, John Eldredge, Louis Jean Heydt, and Charles WaldronThink It Over with Lester Matthews, Charles D. Brown, Donald Barry, and Dwight FryeThe Wrong Way Out with Kenneth Howell and Linda TerryMoney to Loan with Alan Dinehart, Paul Guilfoyle, John Butler, Addison Richards, and Tom CollinsWhile America Sleeps with Richard Purcell, Lenita Lane, Egon Brecher, and Fred VogedingHelp Wanted with Tom Neal, Jo Ann Sayers, Clem Bevans, Edward Pawley, and Truman BradleyThink First with Marc Lawrence and Laraine DayDrunk Driving with Richard Purcell, Jo Ann Sayers, and Richard Lane Pound Foolish with Neil Hamilton, Lynne Carver, Gertrude Michael, and Victor VarconiKnow Your Money with Noel Madison, Dennis Moore, Charles D. Brown, William Edmunds, John Wray, and Adrian MorrisJack Pot with Tom Neal, Ann Morriss, Edwin Maxwell, and Jean RouverolWomen in Hiding with Marsha Hunt, Jane Drummond, Mary Bovard, C. Henry Gordon, and Granville BatesBuyer Beware with Charles Arnt and Hugh BeaumontSoak the Old with Ralph Morgan and George ClevelandYou, the People with C. Henry Gordon, Byron Shores, Paul Everton, and Matt McHughRespect the Law with Moroni Olsen, Richard Lane, Frank Orth, and William ForrestForbidden Passage with Addison Richards, Wolfgang Zilzer, Hugh Beaumont, and George LesseyCoffins on Wheels with Darryl Hickman, Tom Baker, Allan Lane, and Cy KendallSucker List with Lynne Carver, Noel Madison, John Archer, and George ClevelandDon't Talk, with Donald Douglas, Gloria Holden, Barry Nelson, and Harry WorthFor the Common Defense! with John Litel, Douglas Fowley, Horace McNally, and Van JohnsonKeep 'em Sailing with Jim Davis and Ian KeithPlan for Destruction Patrolling the Ether with Hazel Brooks and Marc CramerEasy Life with Steven Geray, Bernard Thomas, and William "Bill" PhillipsDark Shadows with Henry O'Neill, Morris Ankrum, Arthur Space, and Paul GuilfoyleFall Guy with Leon Ames and Paul LangtonThe Last Installment with Walter Sande, Cameron Mitchell, William "Bill" Phillips, Bob Lewis, and Addison RichardsPhantoms, Inc. with Arthur Shields, Harry Hayden, and Frank ReicherA Gun in His Hand, with Tom Trout, Richard Gaines, and Anthony CarusoPurity Squad with Byron Foulger, Dick Elliott, Morris Ankrum, and Frank FentonThe Luckiest Guy in the World with Barry Nelson, Eloise Hardt, George Travell, Milton Kibbee, and Harry CheshireA 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, with new footage of Edward Arnold as a police detective.
Although not filmed by MGM, the Disney Eyes of the Navy short was distributed to theaters as part of the Crime Does Not Pay series.