Watch Vice Raid

Vice Raid, a 1959 film, is a thrilling drama set in the heart of red-light district Illinois, involving a dynamic team of police force and an exotic dancer. The film begins with the opening of a club, where burlesque dancers are the main attraction. The dressed-up police officials are watching, but start to fade away as the night progresses. The film, set in the 1950s, cleverly handles the subject of prostitution, gambling, and drug trafficking.

The story starts when two detectives, Michael Matthews (played by Richard Coogan) and James ‘Jim’ Baxter (played by Brad Dexter) encounter a drunken financial sleazebag named Vaughn Harper during a routine patrol. The cops drive him home and discover something worrisome when they check his house: a dead prostitute on the bed. The detectives then get information from a madam that Vaughn was connected to a nearby club called the Congo.

The Congo is run by Slim Walker (played by Barney Phillips) and Sherry (played by Mamie Van Doren), an exotic dancer. Michael and Jim take the mission of investigating the Congo and trying to clean it up. They go undercover and start to gather as much information as they can, from drug trafficking to prostitution.

Slim Walker is a powerful man, and his support comes from a powerful figure in the city. Michael and Jim must be careful with their investigation. The police chief, however, is reluctant to intervene due to the power structure in the city, but Michael and Jim convince him by using the leverage of a better life lesson for Slim's wife.

As they gather intel, Michael and Jim get close to Sherry, one of the girls, undercover. The police force also tracks down the person who is providing drugs to the club, and it leads them to Vaughn Harper's money-hungry wife. They hatch a plan to trap Slim and his clients at their club while broadcasting their immoral activities. The police force eventually takes down the club with a coordinated effort.

Throughout the film, Sherry remains the focus point, with a string of scenes showing her dancing seductively, and the camera crews capturing her from all angles. At one moment, she is seen sitting on the lap of Slim, the next, she is attended to by a painful beating from one of Slim's henchmen, as the audience watches the brutality unfold. However, the scenario is handled with tact, without sensationalizing it.

Mamie Van Doren, who plays Sherry, shows off her dancing talent with ease, and perhaps Vice Raid‘s selling point was the sex appeal she brings to the screen. Despite the glamour, she does bring raw intensity to her role, especially when she is being harassed by her pimp.

Overall, Vice Raid is an action-packed, engaging movie that highlights the dangers of the sex industry, the corruption of the powerful figure, and the pressure police officials face when handling such cases. This thrilling drama is a classic, worth to be seen, with the capacity to keep you at the edge of your seat for its entire duration.

Vice Raid is a 1960 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 12 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.5.