Future mega star Rita Hayworth appeared in a series of half a dozen be programmers with a forgotten young man named Charles Quigley. A good majority of her early Columbia films are completely forgotten, and barely seen. Only a handful of them ever got a home video release. so when these early films in the career of Rita Hayworth are discovered, they become an exciting glimpse in the creation of the look of Columbia's greatest star of the 1940's and early 1950"s. Hayworth is the pretty daughter of hockey coach J. Farrell McDonald, a decent man who is unaware that the owner of the team has arranged with several players to make sure they lose the game simply so he can make money. A tragic death on the hockey rink is a shocking opening to this B picture, quite gruesome in its insinuation, and making Hayworth become an undercover reporter so she can clear her father of all suspicion. The entrance of new player Quigley adds on more suspicion and intrigue, and Hayworth begins to see him socially so she can determine whether or not he is involved in something crooked.
At just over an hour long, this is a well-made programmer with Hayworth showing great potential as the feisty heroine who convinces newspaper editor John Gallaudet to allow her to go undercover and get the scoop on what's actually going on. The criminal element is obvious, and it also makes one question the loyalty and morality of the team members who would go out of their way to make sure that a star player dies so they can get a cut of the profits from their team losing. The world of hockey is a violent sport and this does not shirk in its presentation of that game as such. It is fast moving, filled with Intrigue and it is a shame that Quigley didn't go on to at least appear in a few more films with Hayworth as her rise to stardom grew. He is handsome, rugged, charming and honest, and with a few bigger budget films under his belt, he too could have become a star. Hayworth's series of films made at Columbia between 1937 and 1940 are a mixed bag of quality, some much better than others, and of her B films, I have to rank this as one of her best.
At just over an hour long, this is a well-made programmer with Hayworth showing great potential as the feisty heroine who convinces newspaper editor John Gallaudet to allow her to go undercover and get the scoop on what's actually going on. The criminal element is obvious, and it also makes one question the loyalty and morality of the team members who would go out of their way to make sure that a star player dies so they can get a cut of the profits from their team losing. The world of hockey is a violent sport and this does not shirk in its presentation of that game as such. It is fast moving, filled with Intrigue and it is a shame that Quigley didn't go on to at least appear in a few more films with Hayworth as her rise to stardom grew. He is handsome, rugged, charming and honest, and with a few bigger budget films under his belt, he too could have become a star. Hayworth's series of films made at Columbia between 1937 and 1940 are a mixed bag of quality, some much better than others, and of her B films, I have to rank this as one of her best.
