After a nightclub dancer is murdered, detectives Stacy Harris and Louis Sirgo are put on the case. They find a suspect who matches a description given, but then the real killer strikes again. This last murder was seen by a musician however, and both the detectives, as well as the killer, are trying to find him. Before the killer gets his shot at the musician, Harris & Sirgo kill him. But they realize the killer was part of a larger heroin-smuggling ring, using cigars to stash the merchandise in, and they decide to go undercover in New Orleans's seediest district.
The story is pretty basic and straight-forward with no real surprises, which is probably because this movie is essentially an entire episode of the short-lived TV series called 'N.O.P.D.', the episode called 'The Case Of The Missing Cigars', with additional scenes and plot lines added to make up for the longer time frame.
If you look up the main actors and crew of this movie on IMDb, you'll find that most of them have very few, if any, credits outside of the 'N.O.P.D.' TV series and the movies that followed it (there's also 1962's 'Four In The Morgue'). Harris and Sirgo also starred in the TV series, but they're not exactly good actors. Heck, Sirgo was a cop in real life and never trained as an actor. Harris (who appeared in several 'Dragnet' episodes) is slightly better, but has a tendency to go over-the-top tough in his delivery of the somewhat hokey hard-boiled lines. The mobster behind the crime-ring, Wilson Bourg, gives the best performance, I was surprised that outside of this 'franchise' his only other credit is a bit part in 1950's 'Panic In The Streets' (which also takes places in New Orleans!).
Despite its lack of budget and talent in front of the camera and in the writing department, this is a fairly entertaining movie. And the camera work by DoP Willis Winford and his team deserves praise. It makes great use of location shooting in New Orleans, and there are nice shadows and moody shots during the great-looking nighttime scenes. His work alone elevates this movie a notch, which is otherwise an entertaining but run-of-the-mill movie made on a shoestring budget. Not recommended, but oddly endearing, and worth watching for the visuals. 6+/10
The story is pretty basic and straight-forward with no real surprises, which is probably because this movie is essentially an entire episode of the short-lived TV series called 'N.O.P.D.', the episode called 'The Case Of The Missing Cigars', with additional scenes and plot lines added to make up for the longer time frame.
If you look up the main actors and crew of this movie on IMDb, you'll find that most of them have very few, if any, credits outside of the 'N.O.P.D.' TV series and the movies that followed it (there's also 1962's 'Four In The Morgue'). Harris and Sirgo also starred in the TV series, but they're not exactly good actors. Heck, Sirgo was a cop in real life and never trained as an actor. Harris (who appeared in several 'Dragnet' episodes) is slightly better, but has a tendency to go over-the-top tough in his delivery of the somewhat hokey hard-boiled lines. The mobster behind the crime-ring, Wilson Bourg, gives the best performance, I was surprised that outside of this 'franchise' his only other credit is a bit part in 1950's 'Panic In The Streets' (which also takes places in New Orleans!).
Despite its lack of budget and talent in front of the camera and in the writing department, this is a fairly entertaining movie. And the camera work by DoP Willis Winford and his team deserves praise. It makes great use of location shooting in New Orleans, and there are nice shadows and moody shots during the great-looking nighttime scenes. His work alone elevates this movie a notch, which is otherwise an entertaining but run-of-the-mill movie made on a shoestring budget. Not recommended, but oddly endearing, and worth watching for the visuals. 6+/10
