Arson, Inc.

1949 film by William A. Berke

Arson, Inc.

Directed by| William Berke
Screenplay by| Maurice Tombragel
Story by| Arthur Caesar
Produced by| William Stephens
Starring| Robert Lowery
Anne Gwynne
Edward Brophy
Cinematography| Carl Berger
Edited by| Edward Mann
Music by| Raoul Kraushaar
Distributed by| Lippert Pictures

Release date

* 24 June 1949 (1949-06-24)

Running time

| 63 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $60,000[1]

Arson, Inc. is a 1949 American film noir directed by William Berke. It is also known as Firebug Squad and Three Alarm Fire.

## Plot

[edit]

Joe Martin is a fire fighter in Los Angeles who is assigned to the Arson Detail. His first assignment is to investigate a suspicious fur store fire that seems to be set by the store owner himself, Thomas Peyson. Joe's predecessor in the Arson Detail was killed when investigating the same fire and his file with his findings wasn't recovered from his body. This is just one of many suspicious fires in the last few years, where the insurance claims have been filed by the same agent, Frederick P. Fender.

Joe begins with Peyson, and visits his apartment which is a site of a recent fire. He meets the babysitter, Jane, a young teacher, and Joe drives her home and ask her out on a date the next evening. It turns out Peyson and Fender are in cahoots together - the first thing Peyson does after Joe leaves is phone his accomplice. They meet the day after, as Joe comes to see Fender as the next logical step in his investigation. Joe never sees Peyson, who sneaks out through a back door. Joe gets very little information from Fender, but Fender has one of his men, Pete, tail Joe.

Soon Joe realizes that he is being followed and when Pete finally makes contact, offering Joe a chance of making a little extra money, Joe decides to play along. When visiting an illegal bookie, Joe starts to fight a policeman and he gets fired for this behaviour. Pete makes contact again, wanting to use the ex-fireman in the insurance fraud racket. Joe and Jane both meet Fender at a party at Pete's, and Fender is smitten with the young teacher. Fender's secretary Betty sees this, and feels her own agenda is threatened.

Joe is hired to do some work for Fender, and the following day he is to drive a car for Pete when he is setting fire to another store. Joe's job is to block the way for the fire trucks. Joe shares the plan with an undercover policeman, Murph, and after the fire is set, the cop steps in and extinguishes the fire before it grows out of control. All the goods are already removed from the store by Pete. Pete returns to the store and finds Murph at the scene. Pete shoots Murph, but more police arrive to the store, and a car chase ensues, where Joe and Pete ultimately manage to shake the police.

Fender realizes the police were warned and suspects Betty. Fender orders her to watch Pete by dating him, and so they go on a double date with Joe and Jane that night. Joe tells Jane about his undercover assignment on the way to the club. When Betty gets drunk she accidentally discloses the address where the furs are stored and after the dinner, Joe and Jane go there. Joe is unaware that Betty was ordered to slip the address to trap Joe.

Joe drives the drunk Pete home and manages to find the file from his predecessor in Pete's apartment. He takes Jane with him and returns to the warehouse where the furs are, alerting the police on the way. When Joe and the police arrive at the warehouse there are no furs in it. The police look at the file Joe brought and they find evidence implicating Pete in setting the fire. The police leave to arrest Pete, but Pete arrives to the warehouse with a gun. Fender is alerted of the situation by a night watchman and tries to get there as fast as he can, driving with Betty by his side.

Joe manages to take the gun from Pete, but Pete gets the gun from the night watchman and pursues Joe and Jane as they try to escape. Pete sets fire to the warehouse, trying to trap Joe and Jane inside. Fire trucks get the alarm and comes to the warehouse, and Fender crashes his car on the way, driving too fast. With the help of the firemen, Joe catches Pete and overpowers him, and the rest of the villains are caught. Joe and Jane continue dating each other.[2]

## Cast

[edit]

* Robert Lowery as Joe Martin
* Anne Gwynne as Jane Jennings
* Edward Brophy as Pete Purdy
* Marcia Mae Jones as Betty – Fender's Secretary
* Douglas Fowley as Frederick P. 'Fred' Fender
* Maude Eburne as Grandma
* William Forrest as Deputy Fire Chief / Narrator
* Steve Pendleton as Murph, the undercover man
* Byron Foulger as Thomas Peyson
* Matt McHugh as Hubbell
* Lelah Tyler as Mrs. Peyson
* Emmett Vogan as Al, Night Watchman
* John Maxwell as Detective
* Richard David as Junior Peyson

## Production

[edit]

Filming began March 10, 1949. Location footage was shot in San Francisco.[3][4]

Actor George Reeves did some dialogue directing on the film. (Reeves ad directed in theatre).[5]

## Reception

[edit]

The Los Angeles Times called the film "lively".[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mark Thomas McGee, Talk's Cheap, Action's Expensive: The Films of Robert L. Lippert, Bear Manor Media, 2014 p 84
2. ^ "Arson--Inc".
3. ^ Schallert, E. (February 21, 1949). "'Quarantine' held good dana andrews possibility; seven stars in loanout". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165931415.
4. ^ Schallert, E. (March 4, 1949). "Star team reunited; Astaire deal revealed; Marie Wilson pacted". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165905862.
5. ^ "STUDIO BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times. March 12, 1949. ProQuest 165938185.
6. ^ G, K. (April 29, 1949). "Melodrama now on view". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165916458.

## External links

[edit]

* Arson, Inc. at IMDb
* Arson, Inc. at the TCM Movie Database
* Arson Inc[dead link‍] at BFI
* Arson, Inc. is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by William Berke

1930s|

* Toll of the Desert (1935)
* Desert Justice (1936)
* Gun Grit (1936)

1940s|

* Lawless Plainsmen (1942)
* Down Rio Grande Way (1942)
* Riders of the Northland (1942)
* Bad Men of the Hills (1942)
* Overland to Deadwood (1942)
* The Lone Prairie (1942)
* Riding Through Nevada (1942)
* Pardon My Gun (1942)
* A Tornado in the Saddle (1942)
* The Fighting Buckaroo (1943)
* Riders of the Northwest Mounted (1943)
* Saddles and Sagebrush (1943)
* Law of the Northwest (1943)
* Frontier Fury (1943)
* Robin Hood of the Range (1943)
* Tornado (1943)
* Hail to the Rangers (1943)
* Silver City Raiders (1943)
* Minesweeper (1943)
* The Vigilantes Ride (1943)
* Sailor's Holiday (1944)
* The Navy Way (1944)
* Girl in the Case (1944)
* Wyoming Hurricane (1944)
* Riding West (1944)
* The Last Horseman (1944)
* The Falcon in Mexico (1944)
* That's My Baby! (1944)
* Dark Mountain (1944)
* Dangerous Passage (1944)
* Double Exposure (1944)
* Betrayal from the East (1945)
* High Powered (1945)
* Why Girls Leave Home (1945)
* Dick Tracy (1945)
* Ding Dong Williams (1946)
* Sunset Pass (1946)
* Rolling Home (1946)
* The Falcon's Adventure (1946)
* Renegade Girl (1946)
* Code of the West (1947)
* Shoot to Kill (1947)
* Caged Fury (1948)
* Speed to Spare (1948)
* Waterfront at Midnight (1948)
* Racing Luck (1948)
* Jungle Jim (1948)
* Highway 13 (1948)
* The Lost Tribe (1949)
* Arson, Inc. (1949)
* Sky Liner (1949)
* Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949)
* Zamba (1949)
* Deputy Marshal (1949)

1950s|

* Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
* Captive Girl (1950)
* Operation Haylift (1950)
* I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)
* On the Isle of Samoa (1950)
* Gunfire (1950)
* Train to Tombstone (1950)
* Border Rangers (1950)
* Pygmy Island (1950)
* The Bandit Queen (1950)
* Danger Zone (1951)
* Roaring City (1951)
* Smuggler's Gold (1951)
* Pier 23 (1951)
* Savage Drums (1951)
* FBI Girl (1951)
* The Jungle (1952)
* The Marshal's Daughter (1953)
* Valley of the Head Hunters (1953)
* Four Boys and a Gun (1957)
* Street of Sinners (1957)
* Island Women (1958)
* Cop Hater (1958)
* The Mugger (1958)

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