Tuesday's Overlooked Films: They Made Me A Killer

This 1946 film noir/crime drama is one of the B-movies produced by Paramount Studios at their Pine-Thomas unit. The best thing going for the movie is Daniel Mainwaring (Build My Gallows High/Out of the Past) was one of the script writers. Robert Lowery plays a tough-talking mechanic who blows Chicago after his brother dies and head for California to find his fortunes. He drives a big car with a powerful engine which he wants to sell to raise some money. He manages to get himself involved in a bank robbery and is forced at gunpoint to be the wheelman. After the cops grab him up, he escapes and goes on the run to prove his innocence and clear his good name. The attractive Barbara Britton plays the love interest who assists Lowery. Things step right along over the hour-long movie. One of the interesting minor characters is the Ma Barker-type older lady who hides out the bank robbers in the cellar of her restaurant. The copy I watched streamed to my laptop was bad quality. Not a terrific crime noir but enjoyable enough.