Dangerous Profession, A (1950)

Former LA cop Vince Kane (George Raft) and not too scrupulous self-made man Joe Farley (Pat O’Brien) are partners in a bail-bond business.

Claude Brackett (Bill Williams), a clerk, is arrested for robbing his firm and killing a police officer. His wife, Lucy (Ella Raines), goes to Vince for assistance.

Vince recognises Lucy as an old flame and, still in love with her, advances part of the bail money without security.

Following his release, Claude is murdered and Vince determines to find the killer, believing that shady nightclub proprietor Jerry McKay (Roland Winters) is concealing the real culprit.

Clues point to Max Collins (Robert Gist), one of McKay’s toughest boys. By pulling a big bluff and risking his own life, Vince brings the gunman – who was also responsible for the cop’s death – to heel.

Vince then marries Lucy.

The film has a semi-documentary opening, but after giving a lucid description of a bail-bondsman, it falls back on a conventional, though slightly involved, gangster plot for its entertainment and thrills.

Vince Kane
George Raft
Lucy Brackett
Ella Raines
Joe Farley
Pat O’Brien
Claude Brackett
Bill Williams
Lt. Nick Ferrone / Narrator
Jim Backus
Jerry McKay
Roland Winters
Elaine Storm
Betty Underwood
Max Collins
Robert Gist
Matthew Dawson
David Bauer

Director
Ted Tetzlaff