***SPOILERS*** M Squad Let.Det. Frank Ballinger, Lee Marvin, risks his life by posing as an unhappily married man who's old lady undercover police woman Loretta Kirby, Chris Fortune, wants rubbed out in order to receive a double indemnity insurance policy of $40,000.00 and live happily ever after as a Merry Widow. This is part of a sinister plan hatched by Chicago shyster Arthur Wendell Cane, Joel Ashley, who had already a half dozen hard working husbands insured by their greedy wives only to get knocked off for them, with Cane collecting as much as 50% of the insurance money, collecting their ill gotten and criminal gains.
In a bar putting on his abusive husband act towards his wife undercover police woman Kirby Det. Let. Ballinger catches Cane's attention who later, after Ballinger stormed out of the ginmill, talks Kirby into insuring her husband and then having him knocked off by Cane's partner in crime hit-man Reynolds, Sheldon Allman, with her nowhere around the murder scene as her alibi. Their whole plan soon backfires when both Cane & Reynolds get into an argument over the split of the take that gives Det.Let. Ballinger and his squad enough time to storm the apartment of co-conspirator and Merry Widow Evelyn Lucas, Jeanne Vaughn, where the split was supposed to take place.
***SPOILERS*** Let. Det. Ballinger used his martial art, from his army service, and footwork, as a former ball-room dancer, skills to disarm and put away Cane & Reynolds but his partner Det. Mike Davis,John Goddard, who was watching his back wasn't so lucky. he ended up during all the fighting getting shot and killed in the action that had Ballinger for some reason feeling, in not doing enough, responsible for his death. But to smooth things out not all , besides Det. Davis' life, was lost with Evelyn Lucas getting life behind bars and both Cane & Renyolds a one way trip to the Illinois state electric chair!
In a bar putting on his abusive husband act towards his wife undercover police woman Kirby Det. Let. Ballinger catches Cane's attention who later, after Ballinger stormed out of the ginmill, talks Kirby into insuring her husband and then having him knocked off by Cane's partner in crime hit-man Reynolds, Sheldon Allman, with her nowhere around the murder scene as her alibi. Their whole plan soon backfires when both Cane & Reynolds get into an argument over the split of the take that gives Det.Let. Ballinger and his squad enough time to storm the apartment of co-conspirator and Merry Widow Evelyn Lucas, Jeanne Vaughn, where the split was supposed to take place.
***SPOILERS*** Let. Det. Ballinger used his martial art, from his army service, and footwork, as a former ball-room dancer, skills to disarm and put away Cane & Reynolds but his partner Det. Mike Davis,John Goddard, who was watching his back wasn't so lucky. he ended up during all the fighting getting shot and killed in the action that had Ballinger for some reason feeling, in not doing enough, responsible for his death. But to smooth things out not all , besides Det. Davis' life, was lost with Evelyn Lucas getting life behind bars and both Cane & Renyolds a one way trip to the Illinois state electric chair!
