X Marks the Spot

1942 "BLACK MARKET CZAR!...Exchanging human lives for blood-soaked Profit!"
X Marks the Spot
5.2| 0h55m| en| More Info
Released: 04 November 1942 Released
Producted By: Republic Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A private detective, soon to enlist in the army, is drawn into one final case when his police officer father is killed in the line of duty. Soon his prime suspect is murdered as well, and he finds himself framed for the crime. As more witnesses get murdered, he finds himself on the run from both the police and former Prohibition violators who seem to have found a new racket.

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Prismark10 X Marks the Spot is a pleasant but uninteresting B movie with nice leads. However it is a predictable thriller which is notable for featuring actor Neil Hamilton who would go on to play Commissioner Gordon in the Batman tv series.Eddie Delaney is a private eye who is about to be commissioned to the US army. He meets his dad in a cafe, a veteran police sergeant. Later on his dad is killed when he sees some suspicious people at a warehouse. The bad guys were planning to steal two trucks to sell tyres on the black market.Eddie is persuaded by lieutenant William Decker to work with the police to find out who killed his father. However at each turn Eddie finds that potential witnesses have died before he could speak to them. Soon Eddie is wanted for murder and he needs to clear his name.An unpretentious quickie with a twist that is easy to predict.
Joseph Scott If you tend to like minor B-movies of the '40s, this is definitely one to see. Male lead Damian O'Flynn as a tough private detective and female lead Helen Parrish as a younger friend of his who tries to make sure her hero doesn't get hurt both have charisma. The editing never gets slow, and the script is delightfully jam-packed with classic cliché lines of the movies and of the era, but serving a watchable story.Neil Hamilton, eventually of the Batman TV series, is effective in one of the supporting roles. Gaspere Biondolillo plays his usual straightforward heavy. The print available on the inexpensive Alpha DVD is good.
dbborroughs The cop father of a private detective is killed when he stumbles on a criminal enterprise. The private detective decides to investigate the case in the three days left to him before he goes into the army. Much better then it sounds crime drama is a breezy little film, it runs under an hour. With nary a pause once the film gets up and running this is a darkly comedic film about a criminal organization that seems to be harking back to prohibition days. The veteran cast including Dick Purcell and Niel Hamilton really sell the story to the point that I misdirected as to what was going on. This is a superior little film thats worth popping in to the DVD player should you happen to rent or buy it. (Leave a comment)
sol ***SPOILERS*** Soon to be inducted into the US Army, as a second lieutenant no less, private dick Eddie Delaney, Damian O'Flynn, gets involved with this gang of tire smugglers who gunned down his dad police Sergeant Tim Delaney, Robert Homans, who uncovered the gangs secret storehouse. The tire storehouse was already ripped off by former bootlegger, and now rubber tire smuggler, Marty Clark, Jack La Rue. Clark is a slippery eel of a hood who, unlike Big Al "Scarface" Capone, outfoxed the authorities during Prohibition days by not forgetting to pay his taxes.It later turns out that Clark ripped off the tire place from this unscrupulous businessman John Underwood, Neil Hamilton, who like the good and money hungry creep that he is wants to make a killing during wartime by dealing, in selling to the highest bidder, desperately needed rubber tires that the US military needs to defeat Hitler and Tojo. Determined to get his tires back Underwood hires Eddie to track down those who ripped him off with Eddie not at all knowing that Underwood is working against the very country that he as a soon to be a member of the US armed forces is sworn to defend.Interesting little movie that has to do with black market racketeering and this really cute radio disk-jockey Helen Parrish, Linda Ward, who gets involved with the tire smuggling operation. That happens when Helen unwitting answers a phone call telling her to announce a black-out, because of a possible Japanese or German air raid. This was done so that the killer of one of the main tire smugglers can go into action and knock off his victim and be able to get away, during all the confusion, while the light are turned out.On the run after being framed for at least two murders, Clark & Underwood, Eddie with the help of Helen, whom he calls every day on her radio show with song requests, uncover who's really behind these murders and it's someone very high up in the police department. This creep also want's to get in on the action, tire smuggling, by using his power and influence to protect the racketeers with a nice kickback of greenbacks for himself as a reward. I guess it's hard to put your kids through collage or get plastered with high priced booze every night on only a meager policeman's salary.Eddie saves the day and the country, from an acute rubber shortage, by uncovering who's the big man behind the rubber, or tire, smuggling racket and having him and his hoods put on ice together with the frozen tires that they were stealing. In the end pretty Helen Perrish, what a doll, promises to marry Eddie when he comes a marching home from the war. A war, WWII, that he has yet to have even participated in.