The film begins with a class of rookie FBI* agents going through their boot camp. Soon, three of the guys become friends and are soon assigned to work together (how likely is this?). They're investigating a man the agency thinks is part of an organized crime ring, Joe Keefer (Bruce Cabot) and they soon end up arresting him. What's next? See the film for yourself.
"Let 'em Have It" is a decent film but it suffers from a big problem. During the course of the movie, Agent Mal Stevens (Richard Arlen) falls in love with Eleanor Spencer (Virginia Bruce) and you have little reason to understand WHY. Sure, she's beautiful but she's also spoiled, obnoxious and sees very little value in the work these federal agents do. She even begs Mal to talk her brother** out of joining the force. Plus, when they catch her chauffeur with a stolen gun and tell her he's part of a gang, she fights them and convinces the parole board to release him (and he then goes on a reign of terror!). So, why would a dedicated agent want anything to do with her? And, why would a writer construct such a ridiculous relationship?! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! Without a few of these bad scenes, the film could have earned a 7 or 8.
On the positive side, it was a neat movie because of its very, very extensive use of forensics to solve crime. Using a some footprints, an apple and a glove, the experts are able to come up with a great idea of what a suspect looks like--and it's believable. Most old crime films rarely talk about such things and it's nice to see that "CSI", "Bones", "NCIS" and many other new shows are NOT the first to look at this side of an investigation--and that the techniques are NOT all brand-new and high tech. It was also nice to have some very competent actors--better than you might expect from a B-movie. Simply put, apart from the dumb and poorly written relationship between Arlen and Bruce, it was a pretty good film.
By the way, I noticed a couple reviewers seemed to think this film was better than the Jimmy Cagney film "G-Men"--also from 1935 and with similar subject matter. I simply didn't see this. While "Let 'em Have It" is awfully good for a small budgeted film from a tiny studio, it's not even close to the quality and entertainment level of "G-Men"...not even close.
*Oddly, I don't think they used the terms FBI or Federal Bureau of Investigation once during the film.
**It's funny, but when this scene occurred where Eleanor begs Mal to dissuade her brother from joining the force, I turned to my wife and said 'the brother will soon be dead!'--and, not surprisingly, he was! What a silly and poorly telegraphed plot element--and another bit of lousy writing. To make it worse, the young man is told NOT to go near the gangsters' hideout but does anyway--getting himself killed in the process! Duh...
"Let 'em Have It" is a decent film but it suffers from a big problem. During the course of the movie, Agent Mal Stevens (Richard Arlen) falls in love with Eleanor Spencer (Virginia Bruce) and you have little reason to understand WHY. Sure, she's beautiful but she's also spoiled, obnoxious and sees very little value in the work these federal agents do. She even begs Mal to talk her brother** out of joining the force. Plus, when they catch her chauffeur with a stolen gun and tell her he's part of a gang, she fights them and convinces the parole board to release him (and he then goes on a reign of terror!). So, why would a dedicated agent want anything to do with her? And, why would a writer construct such a ridiculous relationship?! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! Without a few of these bad scenes, the film could have earned a 7 or 8.
On the positive side, it was a neat movie because of its very, very extensive use of forensics to solve crime. Using a some footprints, an apple and a glove, the experts are able to come up with a great idea of what a suspect looks like--and it's believable. Most old crime films rarely talk about such things and it's nice to see that "CSI", "Bones", "NCIS" and many other new shows are NOT the first to look at this side of an investigation--and that the techniques are NOT all brand-new and high tech. It was also nice to have some very competent actors--better than you might expect from a B-movie. Simply put, apart from the dumb and poorly written relationship between Arlen and Bruce, it was a pretty good film.
By the way, I noticed a couple reviewers seemed to think this film was better than the Jimmy Cagney film "G-Men"--also from 1935 and with similar subject matter. I simply didn't see this. While "Let 'em Have It" is awfully good for a small budgeted film from a tiny studio, it's not even close to the quality and entertainment level of "G-Men"...not even close.
*Oddly, I don't think they used the terms FBI or Federal Bureau of Investigation once during the film.
**It's funny, but when this scene occurred where Eleanor begs Mal to dissuade her brother from joining the force, I turned to my wife and said 'the brother will soon be dead!'--and, not surprisingly, he was! What a silly and poorly telegraphed plot element--and another bit of lousy writing. To make it worse, the young man is told NOT to go near the gangsters' hideout but does anyway--getting himself killed in the process! Duh...