seymourblack-1 "Shoot To Kill" (aka Police Reporter) is a great example of a low budget movie that delivers terrific entertainment, intrigue and surprises by means of a story that's refreshingly different from the norm. It begins with a high speed car chase that ends when one of the cars crashes and the police, who were chasing it, discover that two of its occupants are dead and the third is badly injured. Whilst they knew that the driver was an escaped convict, the cops are shocked to discover that his passengers were the city's newly appointed District Attorney and his wife. While she's recovering in her hospital bed, Marian Langdon Dale (Luana Walters) agrees to tell her friend, newspaper reporter George "Mitch" Mitchell (Russell Wade), about the events that led up to the crash.Marian had sought employment at the Assistant D.A.'s office after seeing Larry Dale (Edmund MacDonald) successfully prosecute gangster Dixie Logan (Robert Kent) on a murder charge that led to Logan being sentenced to 20 years in prison and had been grateful to Mitch when he had used his influence with Larry to get her appointed as his secretary. Larry, who was rumoured to have used bribed witnesses to secure Logan's conviction, was regularly visited by local crime boss Gus Miller (Nestor Paiva) who, on one occasion, recognised the Courthouse janitor as being one of Logan's gang members. After Miller had left, the janitor planted a bug in Larry's office but later, on Miller's orders, two of his men had called by the building and threw the janitor down the elevator shaft.Larry was on good terms with all three of the crime bosses (including Miller) who were Dixie Logan's main rivals and Miller, having been concerned about how close Larry and Marian had become, urged Larry to fire her before she learned too much about their business. However, after having discovered that his office was bugged and having good reason to suspect Marian, Larry decided instead to marry her so that, as his wife, she wouldn't be able to testify against him. Marian arranged the marriage with a local judge that she knew well and afterwards told Larry that she knew how corrupt he was but would stand by him and support his campaign to be District Attorney subject to the condition that he rids the city of the three crime bosses who were responsible for a crime wave that seemed to be carrying on unchecked.Larry had then set up the crime bosses to wipe each other out before a whole sequence of surprising developments and revelations eventually lead to Marian being able to explain fully what motivated her actions and led to her and Larry travelling in the same car as Dixie Logan.Watching "Shoot To Kill" is an exhilarating experience because the action drives forward with tremendous purpose, the dialogue is punchy and the impressive visual compositions contribute so much to the moody atmosphere. Expectations are obviously low with movies of this calibre and the quality of the acting isn't great. What is great however, is the convoluted plot which unfolds in flashback, features numerous twists and double crosses and is far more original than most of those seen in similar crime thrillers. There's also a wonderful bonus in the form of Gene Rodgers' boogie woogie number which the pianist delivers with the same vitality and enthusiasm that's so characteristic of the rest of this surprisingly good production.

Panamint This is a cheap Lippert b-movie that overachieves its budget with such little extras as a great piano player, the solid Charles Trowbridge as a D.A., and some flashes of good cinematography. Taught with constant danger, it is sort of a hodgepodge of flashbacks, confusing plot twists and fast pace. The way it just keeps relentlessly forging ahead keeps you interested enough to see what happens next.Russell Wade, a nice guy type on-screen and off, is perfectly cast as the crusading newsman. Susan Walters, 35-ish veteran actress and no young piece of fluff, is convincingly hard as a strong-willed woman with big ideas. The villains are numerous (almost everybody is a villain) and are all well cast.Despite the flaws that are very well set forth by other reviewers in this section (probably better than I could recount them) this movie somehow kept me entertained, if a bit confused at times. So yes, it is possible to make a fairly satisfying film on a shoestring budget. That is the bottom line on "Shoot to Kill".

Michael O'Keefe SHOOT TO KILL is a nice paced crime drama that has Douglas Blackley playing a known gangster Dixie Logan who is framed by District Attorney Larry Dale(Edmund MacDonald). Logan's secret wife Marian Langdon(Susan Walters)takes a job assisting Dale in order to dig up proof corruption in the office and that Logan was framed. Helping Marian is ace reporter George Mitchell(Russell Wade)and not knowing her real situation falls in love with her. The story is being told by the pretty DA's assistant from her deathbed. Photography is top shelf and story does hold some suspense. A brief highlight is piano player Gene Rodgers playing the tunes "Ballad of the Bayou" and "Rajah's Blues". Supporting players include: Charles Trowbridge, Joe Devlin, Vince Barnett and Frank O'Connor.NOTE: Later Blackley changed his name to Robert Kent and Walters became Luana Walters.

christopher-underwood Unremarkable but entertaining enough minor noir. Russell Wade is spirited as the newspaper man with a cause, Edmund MacDonald is the aspiring District Attorney but sales a little close to the wind and spends much time brooding in a Vincent Price sort of way. Luana Walters is the girl in the middle and halfway through the film brings everything to life with one of the very many twists. Unfortunately it has been a rather slow beginning and before the end tips back down. There is always an inherent problem with movies that are flashbacks and this one is no exception. Worth it though for Walters' performance when for a time the film revolves around her and we seem to be going places.