Eyes of the Underworld (1942) DVD-R

Starring Richard Dix, Wendy Barrie, Lon Chaney Jr., Lloyd Corrigan, Don
Porter
Directed by Roy William Neill

Print: black/white
Runtime: 61 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

Some unexpected casting choices distinguish this so-so Universal
actioner. Richard Dix stars as police chief Richard Barry, whose present
respectable veneer obscures the fact that he once served a prison
sentence. When Barry is threatened with exposure by silky-smooth
gangster functionary Thomas (played by the usually lovable Lloyd
Corrigan), he is bailed out by his affable ex-con chauffeur Benny (played
by the usually villainous Lon Chaney Jr.) The perfunctory romantic angle
is handled by Wendy Barrie as Barry's faithful secretary and Don Porter as
the chief's rival-in-love. A remake of a 1929 crime flick of the same name,
this 1942 version of Eyes of the Underworld updates the material by
having the bad guys dip their crooked mitts into the bootlegged
rubber-tire trade.