Nightbeat

In this superb film noir gem, Ross and Howard play young men who join the police force. Ross succeeds; Howard fails. Howard soon ends up on the wrong side of the law when he falls in with a shady nightclub owner, brilliantly played by Reed. Falling into the middle of all this are two dames one sweet and innocent (Crawford); the other a femme fatale (Norden), the latter with an insatiable taste for money, men, and sex.

• mystery