Nice effects though.

Great Film overall

Fresh and Exciting

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

...as a police force with no discernible ethical standards or scruples.There's NOTHING the cops here won't do; burglary (to search the records of a mortuary business without obtaining a warrant), false arrest (for jailing the undertaker multiple times to pressure him into telling what he knows), blackmail (for hinting that the undertaker's wife will find out he has a lover), downright police corruption (releasing busted call girls in exchange for information), not to mention knowingly consorting with a known prostitute and operator of a call girl service (the call girl's madam) and not tossing her in the jug! On Robinson's suggestions and orders, policemen commit acts that should be rewarded with 5 years in San Quentin. They should have called this film "Cops Gone Wild"! If this is the LAPD Vice Squad, I'd hate to see what sort of schtick goes on down in Homicide.On the other hand, it's a fun romp through the world of 1950s film noire, with Robinson playing the cool, laid back leader of the Vice Squad. I don't think Eddie EVER put in a bad performance.Lee Van Cleef puts in an appearance at his beady eyed, sinister best. He was a natural born villain even this early in his career.The script is a lot of fun... but it's enough to make Rodney King flinch.Welcome to the corrupt Police State.

"Vice Squad" starts out just fine with a promise of noir-ish crime action but quickly descends into just another so-so cop melodrama. Edward G. Robinson does his best with the poor script but his character is completely unlikeable. Paulette Goddard appears as the proprietor of an "escort service", which is a 50's euphemism for a bordello and turns in a credible performance. You'll have some fun spotting the various 40's/50's character actors that make up the rest of the cast. My biggest problem with this film is the incredibly high-handed antics of the police, who apparently never heard of the US Constitution. They consistently violate just about every article in the Bill of Rights in their pursuit of a cop killer. Poor old eyewitness Porter Hall is harassed and framed on the orders of Eddie G. When the cop killer (Ed Binns) is finally cornered, the cops save the taxpayers the cost of a trial by the simple expedient of filling him full of lead. View at your own risk!

Vice Squad (1953) ** (out of 4) Boring crime drama about the day of a police Captain (Edward G. Robinson), which starts with a cop killing that could be linked to a bank robbery. This film really comes off as a poor man's Detective Story and if you've seen that film then you'll probably find yourself pretty bored here. Robinson sleepwalks through his role and there's none of that usual energy from the actor. The supporting cast, including Paulette Goddard and Lee Van Cleef in a small role, are equally dry. None of the various stories are of any interest and the comedy attempts with the harassment of a witness falls flat on its face.

Veteran TV series director and producer (The Rifleman, Law of the Plainsman, Gunsmoke...) Arnold Laven give to the USA fifties cinema story the first movie showing clearly a call girls house activity and that is why this picture will remain in the spectator mind. The madam is a mature Paulette Goddard at may be one of his best roles on the screen. Edward G. Robinson plays with his usual professionalism police officer Captain Barnaby. Good supporting actors, including Italian born Lee Van Cleef much before meet Sergio Leone and his famous spaghetti-western series.