Gavno
...as a police force with no discernible ethical standards or scruples.There's NOTHING the cops here won't do; burglary (to search the records of a mortuary business without obtaining a warrant), false arrest (for jailing the undertaker multiple times to pressure him into telling what he knows), blackmail (for hinting that the undertaker's wife will find out he has a lover), downright police corruption (releasing busted call girls in exchange for information), not to mention knowingly consorting with a known prostitute and operator of a call girl service (the call girl's madam) and not tossing her in the jug! On Robinson's suggestions and orders, policemen commit acts that should be rewarded with 5 years in San Quentin. They should have called this film "Cops Gone Wild"! If this is the LAPD Vice Squad, I'd hate to see what sort of schtick goes on down in Homicide.On the other hand, it's a fun romp through the world of 1950s film noire, with Robinson playing the cool, laid back leader of the Vice Squad. I don't think Eddie EVER put in a bad performance.Lee Van Cleef puts in an appearance at his beady eyed, sinister best. He was a natural born villain even this early in his career.The script is a lot of fun... but it's enough to make Rodney King flinch.Welcome to the corrupt Police State.
Alex da Silva
The film follows a day in the life of policeman Captain Barnaby (Edward G Robinson). The main story deals with the shooting of a policeman and a bank robbery that are linked in that the same people are involved in both incidents, ie, Al (Edward Binns) and Pete (Lee Van Cleef). Jack (Porter Hall) witnesses the shooting and is continuously released and re-arrested throughout the film in order to make him talk. He doesn't want to say anything as it may mean that his wife will find out that he was visiting another woman.The title is a bit misleading as it suggests that there are brothels and prostitutes involved in the bulk of the film. In fact, Mona (Paulette Goddard) as the owner of a call girl service has a relatively small part to play in the story. I don't know why the film is called "Vice Squad". It has a few other story lines running simultaneously but the whole effect is rather weak and a bit haphazard as we keep breaking from one story to follow another - Jack of all stories but master of none. The film feels a bit empty while you are watching it.
bkoganbing
Vice Squad takes a documentary style approach to a single day in a police captain's life and what he might encounter.Of course the murder of a police officer doesn't ever qualify as an ordinary day, but even on those days when an entire force is mobilized looking for a cop killer, still more mundane matters intervene.Edward G. Robinson was in his B film period which is roughly between All My Sons and The Ten Commandments. Still Robinson always brought a certain class to the films he was doing and Vice Squad is no exception.Second billed in the cast is Paulette Goddard who is a madam at a bordello. She was on a blacklist of sorts herself at the time, not for politics, but because she had antagonized the powerful Cecil B. DeMille during the shooting of The Unconquered. Her career was winding down, but she would be marrying Erich Maria Remarque and be leaving the screen shortly for Switzerland.Goddard and Robinson have a nice bond between them. It's obvious he lets her operate because she can be most valuable as a snitch in a pinch. In fact she does come through with some information that starts the case being cracked.Funny though, ten years earlier Robinson and Goddard as co-stars would have commanded an A list budget, even five years earlier. Hollywood could be very fickle at times. Still for a B police drama, Vice Squad has an impressive cast list of quality players. Best in the film is Porter Hall, a two timing funeral director who Robinson knows saw something, but won't crack because he was spending a night with his girlfriend instead of being out of town as he told his wife. How they manage to keep him 'in the system' so to speak is really quite ingenious much to the exasperation of his lawyer, Barry Kelley who runs a close second to Hall.Mixed in with the hunt for a cop killer are more routine matters like exposing a phony Italian count, dealing with Percy Helton's imaginary crimes and a TV interview for publicity's sake. All in the life of a Vice Squad captain.Fans of Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard will like what they see and Vice Squad is a nice tightly scripted and edited police drama.
Bucs1960
This is not one of Edward G's best films. In fact it may be his worst but it is still watchable. It's pretty much a run of the mill 50's crime story which centers around the activities in one day of a detective's life. Good black and white photography with excellent location shots.....not much use of studio sets. This adds to the realism and if you like old cars, the street scenes are for you! Edward G. is, as usual, top notch and for once gets to be a good guy. An aging Paulette Goddard, whose star was really on the wane, is adequate as the madame of an "escort service"....a thinly disguised brothel....her wordplay with Edward G. is sharp and ever so sexy. The supporting cast is familiar to all......and Lee VanCleef pops up as a killer (what else?) in one of his early films before he became an icon in Italian westerns. This is an enjoyable, throw-away film that is worth catching on some late night weekend. Anything with Edward G. is always one to watch.
AD
