The Lineup
In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried to the U. S. by unsuspecting overseas travelers. In San Francisco, two police inspectors are on the case when…
The Lineup
In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried to the U. S. by unsuspecting overseas travelers. In San Francisco, two police inspectors are on the case when a rogue taxi driver, with the help of a rogue porter, manages to steal the suitcase of an antiques collector before running down a cop, who shoots the perp dead before dying himself. Police discover that a statuette in the suitcase contains heroin. Meanwhile, a psychopathic gangster, his malignant mentor, and their dipsomaniac driver have the job of picking up the other heroin shipments, hidden in the luggage of unsuspecting travelers. All goes well until they attempt to retrieve the heroin stuffed in a Japanese doll. A little girl and her young mother have the doll, but when the crooks get possession of it, they find that the heroin has mysteriously vanished. —J. Spurlin In the harbor of San Francisco, a porter throws the suitcase of a passenger who has just arrived from Asia into a taxi. The driver hits a truck and runs down a police officer who shoots the taxi driver dead before expiring himself. The owner, Philip Dressler, explains to Lieutenant Guthrie and Inspector Quine of the San Francisco Police Department that the contents of the suitcase are antiques he bought in Asia from a street vendor. However, the police laboratory discovers that one statuette has heroin hidden inside and the inspectors replace the drug with sugar and return the suitcase to Dressler. Meanwhile, a psychopathic gangster Dancer (who calls himself Tom Evans), his twisted mentor (who demands to know Dancer's victims' last words) and their alcoholic young driver, Sandy McLain, are hired by the kingpin known as "The Man" to collect the heroin packages that were planted in the luggage of three innocent tourists, who are unaware of the packages or what they contain. They succeed in retrieving the first two but the third one is empty and the gangsters panic, holding a mother and her young daughter hostage. The police continue the hunt. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (updated by R.M. Sieger) What at the beginning looks to be a simple traffic accident between a cab and commercial truck near the San Francisco pier turns into a criminal investigation led by SFPD Lt. Ben Guthrie when two people are killed in the process. What Guthrie discovers in his investigation is an Asia to US heroin smuggling operation, he unsure if the people carrying the actual drugs - in this case of the cab/truck accident, otherwise respected Philip Dressler with the San Francisco Opera - are part of the criminal ring or just unsuspecting mules in they carrying what look solely to be touristy curios but which have the packs of heroin hidden inside. The focus then shifts to two hired guns, Dancer and Julian, who have just made their way to San Francisco, their role to pick up the heroin in the next shipment - three sets of unsuspecting carriers on a just arriving ship from the Far East - and place the heroin in a prearranged drop-off location by 16:00 for the unseen person who hired them, they only knowing him by the moniker "The Man", before they once again leave town, their job done. While older Julian is a moderating influence on the more volatile Dancer, they both are aware that they, meaning Dancer as the only one of the two packing heat, may necessarily need to kill the carriers if the situation arises, the fact that one set of carriers is a single mother and her young daughter beside the point. —Huggo
The Lineup
Crime,Drama,Film-Noir
Film Details
In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried to the U. S. by unsuspecting overseas travelers.
In San Francisco, two police inspectors are on the case when a rogue taxi driver, with the help of a rogue porter, manages to steal the suitcase of an antiques collector before running down a cop, who shoots the perp dead before dying himself. Police discover that a statuette in the suitcase contains heroin. Meanwhile, a psychopathic gangster, his malignant mentor, and their dipsomaniac driver have the job of picking up the other heroin shipments, hidden in the luggage of unsuspecting travelers.
All goes well until they attempt to retrieve the heroin stuffed in a Japanese doll. A little girl and her young mother have the doll, but when the crooks get possession of it, they find that the heroin has mysteriously vanished. —J.
Spurlin In the harbor of San Francisco, a porter throws the suitcase of a passenger who has just arrived from Asia into a taxi. The driver hits a truck and runs down a police officer who shoots the taxi driver dead before expiring himself. The owner, Philip Dressler, explains to Lieutenant Guthrie and Inspector Quine of the San Francisco Police Department that the contents of the suitcase are antiques he bought in Asia from a street vendor.
However, the police laboratory discovers that one statuette has heroin hidden inside and the inspectors replace the drug with sugar and return the suitcase to Dressler. Meanwhile, a psychopathic gangster Dancer (who calls himself Tom Evans), his twisted mentor (who demands to know Dancer's victims' last words) and their alcoholic young driver, Sandy McLain, are hired by the kingpin known as "The Man" to collect the heroin packages that were planted in the luggage of three innocent tourists, who are unaware of the packages or what they contain. They succeed in retrieving the first two but the third one is empty and the gangsters panic, holding a mother and her young daughter hostage.
The police continue the hunt. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (updated by R.M. Sieger) What at the beginning looks to be a simple traffic accident between a cab and commercial truck near the San Francisco pier turns into a criminal investigation led by SFPD Lt.
Ben Guthrie when two people are killed in the process. What Guthrie discovers in his investigation is an Asia to US heroin smuggling operation, he unsure if the people carrying the actual drugs - in this case of the cab/truck accident, otherwise respected Philip Dressler with the San Francisco Opera - are part of the criminal ring or just unsuspecting mules in they carrying what look solely to be touristy curios but which have the packs of heroin hidden inside. The focus then shifts to two hired guns, Dancer and Julian, who have just made their way to San Francisco, their role to pick up the heroin in the next shipment - three sets of unsuspecting carriers on a just arriving ship from the Far East - and place the heroin in a prearranged drop-off location by 16:00 for the unseen person who hired them, they only knowing him by the moniker "The Man", before they once again leave town, their job done.
While older Julian is a moderating influence on the more volatile Dancer, they both are aware that they, meaning Dancer as the only one of the two packing heat, may necessarily need to kill the carriers if the situation arises, the fact that one set of carriers is a single mother and her young daughter beside the point. —Huggo.