Very well shot with a good mix of angles, this is also pretty fast paced, but whilst it's interesting to see the fire services in action, this doesn't really go anywhere. The film is book-ended with very poorly delivered fire chief statements about how every has to do their best etc and whilst the main body of the film is better, the acting seems rather lacklustre. Robert Lowery just seems to coast along but Edward Brophy puts in a spirited characterful performance alongside him. Even Anne Gwynne outshines the lead even if she seems not to notice any of the danger or worry at all about what's going down. Maybe it's because she's had more terrifying jobs, like working with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. Not a total waste of time but it would have to be a very rainy Sunday afternoon.
13 Reviews
A Sweet Racket
bkoganbing29 March 2011
An eager young fireman played by Robert Lowery suspects arson in a store fire and he's got good reason to think so. His suspicions are confirmed and he gets a promotion to the arson investigation squad. The job gets doubly dangerous when a previous arson investigator is killed and his briefcase containing all his investigation notes go missing.
The trail leads to insurance investigator Douglas Fowley who has a sweet little kickback racket going about his insured clients kicking back money from their settlements to Fowley.
Fowley even supplies his own torch in the person of roly poly character actor Edward Brophy. Usually Brophy played good natured mugs in films and he starts out that way here. But he's far more dangerous than Lowery originally thinks.
In its short running time Arson, Inc. does deliver the entertainment goods. There's not a frame of film wasted and it's nicely edited, unusual for film from a poverty row studio like Lippert Pictures. Look also for a nice performance from Maud Eburne as the wise cracking grandma for Lowery's girlfriend Anne Gwynne.
But it's Brophy who really steals the show. It's a side of him rarely seen on screen.
The trail leads to insurance investigator Douglas Fowley who has a sweet little kickback racket going about his insured clients kicking back money from their settlements to Fowley.
Fowley even supplies his own torch in the person of roly poly character actor Edward Brophy. Usually Brophy played good natured mugs in films and he starts out that way here. But he's far more dangerous than Lowery originally thinks.
In its short running time Arson, Inc. does deliver the entertainment goods. There's not a frame of film wasted and it's nicely edited, unusual for film from a poverty row studio like Lippert Pictures. Look also for a nice performance from Maud Eburne as the wise cracking grandma for Lowery's girlfriend Anne Gwynne.
But it's Brophy who really steals the show. It's a side of him rarely seen on screen.
Better than expected low rent crime film
gordonl5623 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
ARSON INC: 1949 (aka FIREBUG SQUAD)
This low budget programmer was put out by Lippert Pictures. The film stars Robert Lowery, Anne Gwynne, Douglas Fowley, Edward Brophy and Marcia Mae Jones. The film is about a Los Angeles fireman (Lowery) who is to be sent undercover to get the goods on an arson racket ran by Fowley.
There has been a string of suspicious store and warehouse fires. The common thread with all the fires is that the same insurance underwriter was used. The man, Douglas Fowley is an oily type if there ever was one. He picks out business owners who could use a bit of extra cash.
Fowley then makes a deal with them to torch their buildings. And of course he happens to have a handy fire-bug, Edward Brophy in his employ. (Fowley also makes a pretty penny emptying the warehouses of the real goods before the fire destroys the evidence) Lowery pokes around a few of these fires asking a tad too many questions. Fowley has his man, Edward Brophy keep a watch on Lowery. He follows Lowery around and finds that Lowery likes to drop a buck or two on the ponies. This is hard to do on a fireman's wages. Douglas sees this as an opportunity to turn Lowery to "the dark side". What Fowley does not know is it is all part of the plan to insert Lowery into the arson scam.
Of course there need to be someone from the distaff side in order to pretty up the plot. Anne Gwynne and Marcia Mae Jones are drafted in with Gwynne as Lowery's girl, and Miss Jones as Fowley's squeeze. The plot picks up the pace as Lowery is chucked off the force for being caught in a betting joint. Fowley now has the man join in with his little fire racket. He can always use a smart guy like Lowery.
The story now moves into breakneck speed as cross and double cross become the order of the day. Every time fire-bug Brophy is sent out on a job, Lowery lets headquarters in on the plan. This leads to, undercover cops, fake set-ups and Lowery and the pretty Miss Gwynne trapped in a burning warehouse. Do they escape? And what happens to Brophy and his boss, Fowley? You will need to watch to find out.
William Berke directs this quick paced crime film with a dash of noir included. Berke worked for mostly low end studios during his 1934 to 1958 career. Besides this one, he managed to turn out several watchable b-films in various genres. These include, THE MUGGER, COP HATER, DICK TRACY, CAGED FURY, TREASURE ON MONTE CRISTO and the excellent, FOUR BOYS AND A GUN.
Not a world beater, but makes for a decent time-waster with only a 63 minute run time. Edward Brophy is a hoot as the man with a over-fondness for fire.
This low budget programmer was put out by Lippert Pictures. The film stars Robert Lowery, Anne Gwynne, Douglas Fowley, Edward Brophy and Marcia Mae Jones. The film is about a Los Angeles fireman (Lowery) who is to be sent undercover to get the goods on an arson racket ran by Fowley.
There has been a string of suspicious store and warehouse fires. The common thread with all the fires is that the same insurance underwriter was used. The man, Douglas Fowley is an oily type if there ever was one. He picks out business owners who could use a bit of extra cash.
Fowley then makes a deal with them to torch their buildings. And of course he happens to have a handy fire-bug, Edward Brophy in his employ. (Fowley also makes a pretty penny emptying the warehouses of the real goods before the fire destroys the evidence) Lowery pokes around a few of these fires asking a tad too many questions. Fowley has his man, Edward Brophy keep a watch on Lowery. He follows Lowery around and finds that Lowery likes to drop a buck or two on the ponies. This is hard to do on a fireman's wages. Douglas sees this as an opportunity to turn Lowery to "the dark side". What Fowley does not know is it is all part of the plan to insert Lowery into the arson scam.
Of course there need to be someone from the distaff side in order to pretty up the plot. Anne Gwynne and Marcia Mae Jones are drafted in with Gwynne as Lowery's girl, and Miss Jones as Fowley's squeeze. The plot picks up the pace as Lowery is chucked off the force for being caught in a betting joint. Fowley now has the man join in with his little fire racket. He can always use a smart guy like Lowery.
The story now moves into breakneck speed as cross and double cross become the order of the day. Every time fire-bug Brophy is sent out on a job, Lowery lets headquarters in on the plan. This leads to, undercover cops, fake set-ups and Lowery and the pretty Miss Gwynne trapped in a burning warehouse. Do they escape? And what happens to Brophy and his boss, Fowley? You will need to watch to find out.
William Berke directs this quick paced crime film with a dash of noir included. Berke worked for mostly low end studios during his 1934 to 1958 career. Besides this one, he managed to turn out several watchable b-films in various genres. These include, THE MUGGER, COP HATER, DICK TRACY, CAGED FURY, TREASURE ON MONTE CRISTO and the excellent, FOUR BOYS AND A GUN.
Not a world beater, but makes for a decent time-waster with only a 63 minute run time. Edward Brophy is a hoot as the man with a over-fondness for fire.
Routine Programmer
dougdoepke30 June 2012
A fireman goes undercover to catch a gang of professional arsonists.
I wish the movie had some memorable feature, something to distinguish it from other crime features of the period. But it doesn't. The undercover plot is borrowed from a hundred scarier crime dramas of the time. Lead actors Gwynne and Lowery are certainly capable performers, much better than the predictable material. Still, I wonder about Brophy (Pete). He's faintly comical, a colorful character right out of Damon Runyon. The trouble is he seems out of place in a serious movie like this. I guess it's left to the archly villainous Douglas Fowley to project needed menace. All in all, the movie's a Lippert production, which probably accounts for the various cost-cutters (cheap sets, absence of big fires to menace hero), plus a general lack of imagination. My advice is you've probably seen it before, so skip it, unless you're a fan of Lowery or Gwynne.
I wish the movie had some memorable feature, something to distinguish it from other crime features of the period. But it doesn't. The undercover plot is borrowed from a hundred scarier crime dramas of the time. Lead actors Gwynne and Lowery are certainly capable performers, much better than the predictable material. Still, I wonder about Brophy (Pete). He's faintly comical, a colorful character right out of Damon Runyon. The trouble is he seems out of place in a serious movie like this. I guess it's left to the archly villainous Douglas Fowley to project needed menace. All in all, the movie's a Lippert production, which probably accounts for the various cost-cutters (cheap sets, absence of big fires to menace hero), plus a general lack of imagination. My advice is you've probably seen it before, so skip it, unless you're a fan of Lowery or Gwynne.
A decent low-budget time-passer
planktonrules8 July 2008
ARSON, INC. is a very low-budget film and its obvious for several reasons. First, almost everyone in the film are unknowns other than Eddie Brophy in a supporting role. Brophy was in the latter part of his career and wasn't exactly a huge name, but at least he's a recognizable actor. Second, occasionally the dialog and acting are very poor--especially the prologue and epilogue by the fire chief. He had the acting talent of a tomato and the dialog they had him read was definitely the worst in the film.
As for the rest of the film, it's a reasonably interesting movie about an arson investigation. It seems that quite a few suspicious fires have occurred lately and it appears to be the work of organized crime. And, when people are killed, it's up to the hero to go undercover and learn who's responsible. Interesting and rather reminiscent of the film LOAN SHARK in plot--which is bundled on the same DVD as ARSON, INC..
By the way, the best aspect of the film was the comic relief by Maude Eburne (playing "Grandma"). She was exceptional and the few times she was in the film, it really brightened the whole thing up.
Overall, a decent little low-budget time-passer and that's about it.
As for the rest of the film, it's a reasonably interesting movie about an arson investigation. It seems that quite a few suspicious fires have occurred lately and it appears to be the work of organized crime. And, when people are killed, it's up to the hero to go undercover and learn who's responsible. Interesting and rather reminiscent of the film LOAN SHARK in plot--which is bundled on the same DVD as ARSON, INC..
By the way, the best aspect of the film was the comic relief by Maude Eburne (playing "Grandma"). She was exceptional and the few times she was in the film, it really brightened the whole thing up.
Overall, a decent little low-budget time-passer and that's about it.
Solid if not really memorable cheap, speedy noir involving insurance scams
OldAle125 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Director William Berke specialized in cheapo jungle adventures but he worked in a variety of genres, churning out in 1949 alone 3 crime/noir films, a Jungle Jim adventure with Johnny Weissmuller, another jungle pic, and a western. Whew! It's amazing that this film is as good as it is given the necessarily brief shooting schedule, budget and no-name cast. Robert Lowery plays Joe Martin, a firefighter who in the opening scenes is promoted to a position as an undercover investigator in the arson department after he finds some suspicious evidence while fighting a fire at a fur warehouse. Turns out there's an insurance scam in the making, and Martin's investigation leads him both to a job with the insurance company exec - really a mobster who takes over businesses when the heat gets too tough for his clients - and a romance with a babysitter who he meets while waiting for the first people in the chain that will lead him to the mobster.
This is tautly and efficiently put together at 63 minutes and the acting is serviceable, though only character actor Edward Brophy as oily and garrulous henchman Pete, and Maude Eburne as the love interest's Grandma stand out. Nicely lit and shot by Carl Berger with some location work blending pretty well with the studio sets. Nothing to write home about but effective enough.
This is tautly and efficiently put together at 63 minutes and the acting is serviceable, though only character actor Edward Brophy as oily and garrulous henchman Pete, and Maude Eburne as the love interest's Grandma stand out. Nicely lit and shot by Carl Berger with some location work blending pretty well with the studio sets. Nothing to write home about but effective enough.
Same crime, different racket.
mark.waltz20 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Some fun character performances raise the bar of this late forties crime programmer that covers an arson insurance racket where undercover arson detective Robert Lowery joins the racket to crack it. He joins forces with school teacher/baby sitter Anne Gwynne to befriend members of this racket, in particular the easy going Edward Brophy who has a dark side, emphasized by his obsession with fire. But the real villain of the film is Douglas Fowley who slaps girlfriend/secretary Marcia Mae Jones, thinking that she's squawked to the police. This film features some great shadowy night scenes as well as some great chases, and comedy from the adorable Maude Eburne as Gwynne's partying grandma who is one of the cutest old ladies ever on screen. It's no different than any of the hundreds of other similar racket films of the late 1940's and early 1950's but has many enjoyable moments even though the narration does result in an overly cutesy ending. The film noirish style photography is perhaps the main reason to watch this obscure programmer.
Excellent for such a low-budget movie
Handlinghandel17 December 2007
This is about a fireman who investigates an arson ring. The lead is played appealingly by Robert Lowery. It's very well cast: Anne Gwynne is the schoolteacher he falls for. Edward Brophy is both initially amusing and then intense as an arsonist. Maude Eburne is fun as Gwynne's saucy granny. And the second female lead -- this is not funny; it's scary -- gets smacked in the face by two of the characters. (She is played by the petulantly pretty Marcia Mae Jones.) Unknown programmers like this tend to be disappointing. "Arson, Inc." is the reverse: One comes to it with low expectations and it packs quite a wallop.
Did They Burn The Out-Takes?
boblipton10 September 2023
Fire fighter Robert Lowery is tapped for the arson squad. He starts to investigate a series of suspicious fires and the death of his predecessor, while wooing school teacher Anne Gwynne. He goes undercover to join mysterious Douglas Fowley's gang, working with firebug Edward Brophy.
Since it was a Lippert film, I went in without particularly high expectations, and thus wound up enjoying this mediocre B movie, directed by William Berke. Despite its 61-minute length, it seemed to drag for sizable sections, although players like Marcia Mae Jones, Maude Eburne, and Byron Foulgar did their best to keep me entertained, and the final efforts of the fire company to get there before the place burned down was something that D. W. Griffith would have been content with. Perhaps editor Edward Mann deserves some blame, but what could he have cut to speed up the pace without reducing it to a three-reeler?
Since it was a Lippert film, I went in without particularly high expectations, and thus wound up enjoying this mediocre B movie, directed by William Berke. Despite its 61-minute length, it seemed to drag for sizable sections, although players like Marcia Mae Jones, Maude Eburne, and Byron Foulgar did their best to keep me entertained, and the final efforts of the fire company to get there before the place burned down was something that D. W. Griffith would have been content with. Perhaps editor Edward Mann deserves some blame, but what could he have cut to speed up the pace without reducing it to a three-reeler?
Fair programmer - superb Brophy performance
adrianovasconcelos25 April 2022
William Berke directs a very brisk 61' flick, to the extent that characterization is a tad flat. That said, Lowery comes across as an undercover fireman - an unusual situation in that profession - who is constantly ogled by the women in the film.
Maude Eburne, as the babysitting grandma, and Douglas Flowley as top villain Fender, have remarkable parts but it is Edward Brophy as the incendiary arsonist, that steals the show.
The script is rather contrived, and some parts seem much too put together, but it grabs your attention throughout and even has some funny moments, provided mainly by Eburne and Brophy.
Pretty Anne Gwinne looks set for an important part as the love interest but surprisingly disappears, and by the end I hardly remembered her.
Ultimately, it was designed as a support piece to the main film, and it certainly delivers as short entertainment in a quasi-doc noir atmosphere.
Maude Eburne, as the babysitting grandma, and Douglas Flowley as top villain Fender, have remarkable parts but it is Edward Brophy as the incendiary arsonist, that steals the show.
The script is rather contrived, and some parts seem much too put together, but it grabs your attention throughout and even has some funny moments, provided mainly by Eburne and Brophy.
Pretty Anne Gwinne looks set for an important part as the love interest but surprisingly disappears, and by the end I hardly remembered her.
Ultimately, it was designed as a support piece to the main film, and it certainly delivers as short entertainment in a quasi-doc noir atmosphere.
excellent Lippert crime programmer with Robert Lowery as an undercover arson investigator
django-122 December 2004
Director William Berke knew how to deliver the goods in low-budget action films, crime films, westerns, and Jungle Jim vehicles. A fast-moving plot, a colorful and enthusiastic cast of veterans, interesting camera angles to cover what can't afford to be shot, clever little details to the characterizations and situations that make them seem realistic, and (mostly--not in the most hard-boiled films)a light touch to make the whole thing go down more smoothly (see my review of his 1935 David Sharpe short WILD WATERS). Looking at Mr. Berke's filmography, I've seen over 30 of his films and I've enjoyed every one of them! During his period working for Lippert Pictures, he made some excellent westerns and some fine detective-crime films with Hugh Beaumont (the Denny O'Brien series) and others (see my review of FBI GIRL, with Cesar Romero).This film stars the reliable and amiable Robert Lowery as a fire investigator who goes undercover to break the arson/insurance fraud ring led by Douglas Fowley, who is in great sneering form. In one scene, Berke has a low angle shot of Fowley barking orders to someone, and I thought to myself, "this is the model b-movie! These people KNOW what they are doing!" The fine cast also includes former Universal star Anne Gwynne as a schoolteacher who is moonlighting as a babysitter, and who becomes friends with Lowery. In the scene where they meet, Gwynne is grading papers on the dining room table while babysitting, and when Lowery chats her up and mentions that he did well in history class in school, she throws half of her pile of ungraded papers on the table in front of him and says "work on these!" Little touches like that make this film special. Marcia Mae Jones does a convincing job as Fowley's secretary, someone who is lonely and who is attracted to her boss while knowing what a sleaze he is, but Fowley knows she likes him and takes advantage of that fact. It's a dysfunctional relationship and it's played out very accurately. Once again, the kind of detail that makes this film special. Jones' facial expressions in the final scene in the car with Fowley are quite convincing also. There's a lot of action, and even though no viewer for a moment has any doubt how things will turn out at the end, the filmmakers manage to make it all seem fresh as it is happening, and by distinctive character touches and particulars in the script (the seedy backroom gambling den, for instance) they get us involved in a story that is so "Classic" in its details that the cynic could call it cliché-ridden. There are a number of b-movie gems hidden in the Lippert catalog waiting to be rediscovered. There's nothing noir about this film--Lowery is a hero, Fowley is the bad guy, and there's no grey area or corrupt world. It's just a well-done crime programmer that I pull out every few years and enjoy. Considering how many bad and pretentious films are playing right now on TV and in theaters, films like ARSON INC. are a breath of fresh air.
Arson Inc
searchanddestroy-121 February 2024
Interesting little film offering an unusual topic, a firemen story, a fire fighter also a lead invesigator about an arson case. Arson is not new in thriller category, but this one is really fast paced, thrilling, a good William Berke's flick, better than many othets he made in the past and even later. Solid story, above average production for this kind of stuff, yes, a very good little gem. I guess only a handful of movie buffs know this film. Robert Lowery is a bland actor who shines here, compared to what he did in most of the other films he played in. A good gem to discover, it is worth watching.
Audiences deserved a lot better than this
lor_24 June 2023
Simplicity is the secret to vintage B movies like Lippert's "Arson, Inc.". Watching it almost 75 years after release I wondered the obvious: is there something missing here?
Movies cover a wide range of subjects and are generally designed to entertain and at least provide escape from the mundane, the routine of everyday life. With a B movie, aiming at just an hour or so in length and nothing pretentious in content, the diversion can come from colorful characters, amusing situations or novel plot twists. Of course, exploitation subject matter, whether it be sex, drugs or "forbidden" topics, is a sure-fire way of interesting the viewer.
Too many Bs like "Arson, Inc." are mundane and ordinary, almost reveling in their generic nature. (Sometimes this was on purpose: I remember as a drive-in and grindhouse enthusiast in the '70s watching some features, often dubbed foreign films, that existed as "chasers" -boring junk designed to empty the theater or drive-in parking area as few people would want to sit through them a second time.) I suspect "Arson, Inc." was tolerable when released, as a simple story, easy to follow, and easily consumed, to be forgotten immediately. Decades later there's a tendency to put such simple artifacts on a pedestal, whether for nostalgic reasons or simply to magnify the contrast between the old & standard cultural norm with current gimmicky entertainment. I try not to fall into that trap.
"Arson, Inc." is relentlessly uninteresting, presenting the story of a profession that is dull -basically a fireman acting as a specialized insurance investigator. Watching it, my mind quickly wandered to the current psa commercials broadcast about disability insurance fraud - a real-life problem, but trivialized in the tv pitch of how we should all be vigilant (in the 9/11 style of "if you see something, say something") to report miscreant employers or employees cheating the government and thereby us taxpayers out of many millions of dollars annually. Methinks these psa appeals to the public will not make the slightest dent in the problem.
So stalwart (say, wooden) hero Robert Lowery working undercover is a boring way of introducing the captive viewer to a boring subject. Sure, fires and arson are potentially exciting -as witness the current hit tv series "Fire Country", a procedural broadcast show generating more interest than many a big-deal gimmicky cable miniseries. But with a dependable hack William Berke directing this movie goes nowhere, not even the usual car chase and shootout scene perking things up -soon we're right back to cliches a mile a minute, and nominal villain Douglas Fowley playing "Frederick P. Fender" up to his old dastardly tricks.
More mind-wandering: was it a coincidence that singer Freddy Fender, born in 1937 so the right age to have watched "Arson, Inc." on a Saturday afternoon double feature, came up with that catchy stage name? I hadn't thought of him in ages.
Movies cover a wide range of subjects and are generally designed to entertain and at least provide escape from the mundane, the routine of everyday life. With a B movie, aiming at just an hour or so in length and nothing pretentious in content, the diversion can come from colorful characters, amusing situations or novel plot twists. Of course, exploitation subject matter, whether it be sex, drugs or "forbidden" topics, is a sure-fire way of interesting the viewer.
Too many Bs like "Arson, Inc." are mundane and ordinary, almost reveling in their generic nature. (Sometimes this was on purpose: I remember as a drive-in and grindhouse enthusiast in the '70s watching some features, often dubbed foreign films, that existed as "chasers" -boring junk designed to empty the theater or drive-in parking area as few people would want to sit through them a second time.) I suspect "Arson, Inc." was tolerable when released, as a simple story, easy to follow, and easily consumed, to be forgotten immediately. Decades later there's a tendency to put such simple artifacts on a pedestal, whether for nostalgic reasons or simply to magnify the contrast between the old & standard cultural norm with current gimmicky entertainment. I try not to fall into that trap.
"Arson, Inc." is relentlessly uninteresting, presenting the story of a profession that is dull -basically a fireman acting as a specialized insurance investigator. Watching it, my mind quickly wandered to the current psa commercials broadcast about disability insurance fraud - a real-life problem, but trivialized in the tv pitch of how we should all be vigilant (in the 9/11 style of "if you see something, say something") to report miscreant employers or employees cheating the government and thereby us taxpayers out of many millions of dollars annually. Methinks these psa appeals to the public will not make the slightest dent in the problem.
So stalwart (say, wooden) hero Robert Lowery working undercover is a boring way of introducing the captive viewer to a boring subject. Sure, fires and arson are potentially exciting -as witness the current hit tv series "Fire Country", a procedural broadcast show generating more interest than many a big-deal gimmicky cable miniseries. But with a dependable hack William Berke directing this movie goes nowhere, not even the usual car chase and shootout scene perking things up -soon we're right back to cliches a mile a minute, and nominal villain Douglas Fowley playing "Frederick P. Fender" up to his old dastardly tricks.
More mind-wandering: was it a coincidence that singer Freddy Fender, born in 1937 so the right age to have watched "Arson, Inc." on a Saturday afternoon double feature, came up with that catchy stage name? I hadn't thought of him in ages.
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