Crime, Inc. is a 1945 American film noir crime film directed by Lew Landers starring Leo Carrillo, Tom Neal and Martha Tilton.
The film, based on a story by former crime reporter Martin Mooney, is about a newspaper journalist who faces prison time because he refuses to name his sources. To complicate matters more, the reporter falls in love with the sister of one of the racketeers he's trying to take down.
Martin MooneyâÂÂs 1935 book Crime IncorporatedâÂÂwritten after he served a brief jail term for protecting confidential sourcesâÂÂprovided the germ of the screenplay and gave the film its publicity hook. PRC producer Leon Fromkess secured Mooney as associate producer to lend authenticity, while assigning veteran B-movie director Lew Landers to keep the shoot within a reported 10-day schedule and a negative cost slightly higher than PRCâÂÂs 1944 average.
Principal photography took place at PRCâÂÂs Hollywood facilities in late December 1944 and January 1945. Cinematographer James S. Brown Jr. used low-key lighting and extensive back-projection to stretch sets and create an urban atmosphere on limited sound-stage acreage.
Crime, Inc. opened on April 15, 1945 in New York City at the Rialto Theatre. According to Motion Picture Daily, the picture earned approximately US$6,000 in its second and final week, a modest but acceptable take for a dual-bill programmer on Broadway.
Days before a planned Chicago premiere, the cityâÂÂs Police Motion Picture Censor Board banned the film outright, objecting to its depiction of municipal corruption. PRC appealed to Police Commissioner James Allman, arguing that the picture had already passed New York state censors without cuts. The ban was lifted after minor dialogue trims, and the film subsequently played a successful engagement at the Garrick Theatre.
By the 1970s the filmâÂÂs copyright was not renewed, and it has since entered the public domain in the United States; numerous budget labels have issued it on VHS, DVD and digital platforms.