Behind Green Lights (1946)

Not unentertaining in its own modest way, 19 September 2017

The body of a private investigator, who also dabbled in a bit of blackmail, is literally dumped on the police department's doorstep. The case becomes politically charged when the prime suspect is determined to be one of the mayoral candidate's daughter. And to complicate things further, one of the city's newspapers may also be involved. Lt Sam Carson (William Gargan) has to get to the bottom of things. Problem is, he's fallen for his #1 suspect.

I really enjoyed this little movie much more than I could have imagined. Behind Green Lights will never be confused with a noir heavyweight like Double Indemnity, but it's not unentertaining in its own modest way. The story is compelling enough and director Otto Brower keeps things moving throughout the film's (too) brief 64 minute runtime. Budgetary restrictions can be seen in the limited number of sets (there are really only two or three that matter), yet the film never feels confined or stagey as I've seen before with similar films. Again, a tribute to Director Brower. The film has the benefit of a nice cast. Gargan might not be the most engaging lead, but he's solid and gives a real workmanlike performance. His character falling for the main female character, Janet Bradley (Carole Landis), is certainly believable. Speaking of Landis, she also gives a nice performance. I'm not overly familiar with Ms Landis, but what a tragic figure. Supporting players, including Richard Crane of Rocky Jones "fame", Mary Anderson, and a very young John Ireland, are all strong. My only real complaint is with the doctor character. I'm not sure how this man, who could so easily be tempted to basically break the law, kept his job as a police medical examiner. It's just doesn't make sense.

So, to summarize my thoughts, Behind Green Lights is an engaging little film that's aided tremendously by a nice cast.

6/10