Emergency Squad (1940)

i must have seen a different film!!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

... either that or they had a terrible union, because the police department's "Emergency Squad" handles situations you'd normally consider a job for the fire department - explosions, diffusing bombs, putting out fires, all sorts of rescue situations, even getting cats out of trees. The Emergency Squad even lives in a barracks like the Fire Department does, has a fire engine, and has a mascot of sorts - a German Shepherd that belongs to one of the squad members.Betty Bryant wants a job as a reporter, and the editor of the city paper says if she wants a job she has to come back with a real human interest story. She talks to people on the street and shopkeepers, and asks them what was the most exciting thing that has happened to them recently. The Emergency Squad keeps popping up in conversation so she goes over to investigate. Squad members Dan and Chester are so taken with Betty's looks that they go all Dudley Do Right on her and act stupidly - taking her out on a real fire call and making dumb over the top statements that make the squad look ridiculous when their quotations are printed in Betty's newspaper story. This gets Dan and Chester in bad with their squad leader and gets them "double duty" for the next 48 hours. Although I can't imagine why you would want to punish the public with overly tired Emergency Squad members.Meanwhile, construction mogul Slade Wiley (John Miljan) has a problem. The bid he made to dig a tunnel was way too low and his stock is running way to high for him to meet his obligations and pay his stockholders. He thus plans a series of small explosions in the tunnel, thus causing a cave-in, and running down the value of his stock so he can buy it back himself. Betty, now with the reporter job she was promised after the Emergency Squad story, is investigating these cave-ins and basically acting as an unknowing stooge to Wiley by writing negative articles about the situation and therefore cratering the stock.All of these characters come together - the slimy Wiley, clueless reporter Betty, and squad members Chester and Dan - who are still smarting from being made to look ridiculous in the newspaper - when there is one last accident in the tunnel. This one, however, does not run according to plan.I'll let you watch and see how this all works out and which guy manages to get the girl - Betty - without causing trouble between Dan and Chester. I'll tell you this much - I never saw THAT end coming! This is a great fast-paced B action film that you would never attribute to Paramount if you didn't see the logo staring you in the face. It's more like the Warner Brothers or Universal B's of the late 30's.