VICE SQUAD: one star swims as co-star sinks

This 1953 day-in-the-life-of-a-detective drama is notable for two reasons. Firstly, the tenacity of it's star, Edward G.Robinson to keep working despite the Hollywood blacklist, and to give his best regardless of the quality of the material and, secondly, as a stark illustration of just how far co-star Paulette Goddard's career had fallen.

Robinson is the sole reason for watching this film. By his presence and with his understated performance he lifts what is otherwise a very run of the mill B-movie to a higher level with his presence and understated performance. He gives the production class, and a reason for us to watch.
While there's much to admire in Robinson's interpretation of Captain Barney Barnaby there's also perverse admiration in watching Goddard. Here is an actress famed for her beauty and recognised for her talent with an Oscar nomination a decade earlier now clinging to her career by her fingernails. Despite her billing, the part of local madam Mona Ross is more of an extended cameo than a genuine co-starring role, and Goddard brings nothing to it that a host of lesser known actresses could not have done. It's sad not only to watch a once big name in such reduced circumstances but also to see how Goddard's famed beauty has hardened and faded with the onset of middle age.
As for the film itself the most interesting aspect is how easily and routinely Captain Barnaby bends the law in order to achieve his objectives. He's clearly the good guy in this story yet he has not the slightest qualms about repeatedly re-arresting and intimidating a witness who's reluctant to identify the killer of a police officer, and having another character detained on a blatantly trumped up charge, without making the slightest effort to investigate the veracity of the accuser's allegations. It's never said out loud but the attitude is very obviously that the ends justify the means, and while it's presented in a very benign light the implications are actually very disturbing.
Despite Robinson's presence VICE SQUAD is not a must-see movie but it's definitely worth taking in if you find yourself with 90 minutes to spare.