Claire Trevor was portraying gangster molls and alcoholics as far back as the Thirties and Forties, and even won a Best Supporting Oscar combining both traits in the 1948 classic "Key Largo". Here she's got blackmail on her mind as she tries to shake down a family who took in Mrs. Meade's (Trevor) daughter as a baby. Now of school age, Meade wants the child back, but only with a price tag that the Birdwell's refuse to pay. Enter a shyster private detective who offers Meade an idea that sounds foolproof while demanding a twenty five thousand dollar ransom from the couple after Meade kidnaps her own daughter. Meade should have thought better of it, because even if everything went according to plan, there were too many what if's to the scheme. I loved the twist in this one, as Ralph Birdwell (Robert Sampson) was one step ahead of the rude lush. The PI was a plant, and because Meade didn't know what her own daughter looked like, was steered toward kidnapping Phil Ames' (Biff Elliott) same age daughter instead of her own. Complementing the novel strategy, young Margaret Ames (Sally Smith) loved every minute of it!
Review of A Crime for Mothers
