Synopsis
A documentary-style narrator explains the importance of the dollar to international finance and the US economy. The narration continues with a description of the function of the US Secret Service, which defends the value of the dollar by finding and arresting counterfeiters who may otherwise flood the country with phony bills. Live action begins. The scene opens on a prisoner in a cell; the man, an expert engraver, is engraving plates. He uses an unsuspecting priest to smuggle his plates out of the prison. The plates pass to counterfeiters who are soon releasing phony ten-dollar bills throughout the country.
Secret Service agent John Riggs (DeFore) searches for the source of the counterfeit bills. He identifies a traveling salesman who distributes the bills, but Reggie (Tobias) kills the suspect before the ultimate source of the phony bills can be located. Riggs finds out that the salesman rented a hotel room in Los Angeles and moves into the hotel, posing as a thief and an agent for passing counterfeit bills. He learns that Nora Craig (King) is the leader of the criminal ring. The counterfeiters find out that Riggs is a Secret Service agent and attempt to kill him. The arrival of other Secret Service agents and police saves Riggs and starts a shootout with the criminals. During the fight, Craig, trying to escape, falls to her death off a bridge, and the other criminals are either captured or killed. The plates and counterfeiting equipment are seized.
Discussion
The semi-documentary style was popular in low-budget crime films during the post-World War II era. Notable examples include T-Men (1947), He Walked By Night (1948) and Walk a Crooked Mile (1948). Typically, the film begins with a narrator describing the type of crime and the government agency that investigates it. The narration is portentous and very patriotic. Initially, the action tracks the course of the investigation. Midway, suspense takes over the story line as the undercover agent faces the peril of discovery by the murderous criminal gang.
Although not a superior example of the genre, Southside 1-1000 has an interesting plot and smooth narrative flow. The viewer is gripped by considerable tension during the scenes in which Don DeFore is menaced by the criminals. DeFore was a pleasant leading man who had too few starring opportunities. Photogenic Andrea King adds a touch of the femme fatale. George Tobias appeared so frequently in comical supporting roles that it is rather shocking to see him as a vicious murderer.