The Captive City (1952 film)

Plot

As newspaper editor Jim Austin prepares his testimony before the Committee, the story flashes back to the events which led to his testifying.

Austin is driven to investigate corruption after Clyde Nelson, a local private detective, working on an apparently harmless divorce case, discovers the existence of a big-time gambling syndicate operating with the consent of the city fathers, the local police, and the respectable elements of the community. Nelson is killed in a hit-and-run which appears to be an accident. Austin thinks otherwise because he is harassed by police when he looks into the PI's death.

Cast

Background

The screenplay of The Captive City was inspired by the Kefauver Committee's hearings. The television broadcast of the hearings attracted huge public interest and educated a broad audience about the issues of municipal corruption and organized crime. The tremendous success of the broadcast led to the production of a whole cycle of "exposé" crime films dealing with the dismantling of complex criminal organizations by law enforcement. The Captive City had the blessing of senator Kefauver himself: Robert Wise took a print of the film to Washington D. C. to show to senator Kefauver, who not only endorsed it but even appears in the prologue and epilogue, cautioning audiences about the evils of organized crime. Other notable examples of exposé films include Hoodlum Empire (1952) and The Turning Point (1952).