Buyer Beware

Aug 17, 1940

0h 20m

★ 6.0

Overview

This entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series deals with shady companies selling fake merchandise.

Genres

Crime

Drama

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Buyer Beware Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Les Carter (uncredited)

Charles Arnt

Insp. Thomas' Assistant (uncredited)

Hugh Beaumont

Child's Father (uncredited)

Egon Brecher

Police Insp. William C. Thomas (uncredited)

Charles D. Brown

Helen Collins (uncredited)

Helen Brown

Officer Halligan (uncredited)

Ralph Byrd

Marty Vincent (uncredited)

Ken Christy

Hood (uncredited)

Gene Coogan

George Collins (uncredited)

Carroll Nye

Smith (uncredited)

Frank Orth

Pill Spilling (uncredited)

Jack Pennick

Fredericks (uncredited)

Milburn Stone

This entry in the Crime Does Not Pay series focuses on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's effort to ensure that drugs are fully tested before they are sold to consumers. Two unscrupulous investors market the drug 'Diabulin' as a substitute for insulin after preliminary tests show good results. After a short time, however, users start dying from the drug. The FDA and the state attorney general's office then go after the drug marketers.

5.8

Don't Talk

Feb 28, 1942

This Crime Does Not Pay series entry dramatizes the idea that during wartime, people should not discuss anything related to their work when in public. A casual remark can be overheard by an enemy agent and used to sabotage the war effort. In this short, the story involves shipments of parts to a defense plant.

6.7

Money to Loan

Mar 11, 1939

The MGM crime reporter introduces Norman Kennedy, District Attorney of a large city, he who talks about the general want for money, and the extraordinary lengths some will go to to get it. The loan sharking business has that want for money on both sides. He tells the story of one such loan shark, Stephen Hanley, who tried to pass his company off as a legitimate loan business, but who charged exorbitant rates, and used extortion and fraud to get out of his customers even more than what they may have owed on paper.

4.7

For the Common Defense!

Jun 20, 1942

This Crime Does Not Pay short shows how cooperation among all the nations of the Americas helps the war effort. In this case, a US government agent travels to Chile and Colombia. He works with local authorities to try to thwart an Axis plan to ship stolen ammunition.

6.0

What Price Safety!

Feb 5, 1938

Racketeers muscle in on construction business, use inferior materials, make big profits and endanger the public safety.

5.6

Miracle Money

Mar 26, 1938

In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, doctors scam patients with a fake cure for cancer.

6.3

Think It Over

Jul 24, 1938

A gang of 'professional torches' burn down stores for the insurance money.

8.0

A Criminal Is Born

Jun 5, 1938

An entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series, this short tells the true story of how a young man, ignored by his parents, gets into a gang and starts a crime spree which leads to murder.

5.9

They're Always Caught

Jul 3, 1938

This MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short shows the role the crime laboratory plays in the solving of cases, and how even the smallest detail can become a major clue.

9.1

Dark Shadows

Dec 16, 1944

A police psychiatrist is enlisted to catch a killer.

6.0

The Perfect Set-Up

Feb 1, 1936

In this MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series short, a radio and television engineer falls into a life of crime by dismantling alarms for robberies.

8.0

Fall Guy

Apr 14, 1945

Part of the Crime Does Not Pay short series.

7.1

The Public Pays

Oct 10, 1936

In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, a protection racket preying on milk distribution is broken through the persistence of law enforcement and the courage of a local businessman.

6.0

Buried Loot

Jan 19, 1935

An embezzler who expects to serve his time in prison and then pick up his buried loot is in for a surprise.

7.0

Women in Hiding

Jun 22, 1940

In this Crime Does Not Pay series short, a young woman wants to save her baby, but is afraid of telling her parents and has no money to pay the hospital costs involved. She falls prey to a baby-for-sale racket with quack doctors performing their services.