There is no way I can pass by a film titled FBI Girl. It is in my DNA. Back
in 1951 the FBI were always portrayed as the good guys - honest, faithful,
relentless and of course patriotic apple pie Americans. Because if you didn't,
you could take it for granted that your name would be entered on a list that
Edgar G Hoover was keeping and next to your name was probably penciled in
"possible Red". So our boys here are as honest and clean as a newly minted
silver dollar.
For a slight film of the B nature it has a solid enough cast of actors -
two a little past their expiration date as romantic leading men with Cesar
Romero and George Brent, Audrey Totter who played bad a few times - Lady
in the Lake being one of her best known, but is a good girl here -
in fact she is FBI Girl, Tom Drake (Words and Music and Meet Me in St. Louis)
and most interesting there is Raymond Burr still in his film villain phase.
He is terrific here - as smooth and confident as Perry Mason but on the other
side of the law in which ordering people to be murdered is like Perry ordering
Paul Drake to find a witness.
Burr plays Blake who is the go to man for a governor who is wanted
for a murder from years before. The only thing that can trip him up (other
than someone recognizing him I assume) is that his fingerprints are on file
at the FBI and an ongoing investigation may lead to his prints being sent
for a check. So Blake sets in motion a plan to steal the prints that leads
to multiple murders and Shirley (Totter) being pressured to do this. Fortunately,
FBI agents Stedman (Romero) and Donley (Brent) are trying to figure
out why all these dead bodies keep popping up. Look for a small cameo by
Peter Marshall (Hollywood Squares) and Tommy Noonan doing a comedy skit on
TV. Very conventional but a decent enough film. 74 minutes and up on
YouTube.
