How sad is this?

Excellent but underrated film

Beautiful, moving film.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Corny but enjoyable crime story about rookie LA motorcycle cops, Ralph Meeker and Jeff Richards. It's kind of a 1950s version of "CHiPs." Meeker and Richards face typical street cop challenges, but the film turns a bit serious when Richards is killed and Meeker goes after those responsible. I enjoyed the use of real-life locations and I always enjoy Meeker, so that was enough to elevate the cornball script.

Solid little programmer from MGM's B period. The documentary influence of TV's Dragnet (1951-1959) is apparent in the early police training segment that looks like it was done at the actual Academy. Three trainees buddy-up there, but later switch to the better-paying motorcycle division. There they get involved with black market beef haulers and excitement ensues. Director Wilcox keeps things moving smoothly, while the filming in and around LA lends a realistic feel. Then too, Wynn gets to practice his tart brand of sarcasm as a tough but fair training officer, lending helpful color. As could be expected, the girls (Forrest and Stewart) are strictly secondary, as wife and girlfriend, respectively.Meeker gets to play a cocky trainee in what could have been a warm-up for his classic Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly (1955). I hope they paid him double for all his stunt work at the end. He earns it. For fans of two-wheelers, there's a lot of motorcycle cross-country action that shows off their rugged versatility. And what a coincidence, as another reviewer points out, that so many of the male cast went on to cowboy starring roles on TV—look for Chuck Connors as a deputy sheriff in an office scene about 2/3 of the way through. All in all, it's a solid programmer of the sort soon to migrate to TV, but holds interest, nevertheless.

CODE TWO – 1953A somewhat bottom end, for MGM Studios, that is, tale of three rookie cops who join, The Los Angeles Police Department. The three, Ralph Meeker, Robert Horton and Jeff Richards become friends as they work their way through the training.Meeker is the cocky one who can't wait to see some action. Horton is married with a young son. Richards joined because his father had been killed in the line of duty on the force. In charge of rookie training is, Lt. James Craig and Sgt Keenan Wynn. The smart arse, Meeker is nearly washed out the first week for not being a "team player". Wynn however sees something under all the bravado and gives him a second chance. The three make it through basic and are sworn in as L.A. Police Officers.They are all assigned to various mundane tasks such as stock taking, school crossing guard etc. This is rather boring and they really what to get to the rough and ready action. All three volunteer for the motorcycle unit. This means more cash, a fancy uniform and out of the office time. That is after several more weeks of training. Meeker and Richards both take a shine to Horton's sister in-law, Elaine Stewart. Meeker hound dogs her while Richards is more laid back. Stewart eventually picks Richards and they become an item. The trio of rookies all pass the course and get assigned to traffic duty. Traffic stops and accident calls fill their day. Meeker fills his date book with numbers from the tickets he hands out to pretty girls. This happy life ends when Richards pulls over a truck one night for running a stop sign. The driver, Jonathan Cott and his passenger, William Campbell have a truckload of hot cattle. They truck cattle stolen from small ranches etc to an out of town slaughterhouse. The cattle are good for $275 a head. Campbell belts Richards across the back of the head with a monkey wrench. He then backs the truck up over Richards a few times. Then they drive off into the night. Meeker and Horton take the murder of their friend hard and ask for special duty in the hunt for the killers. They cruise throughout L.A. looking for the truck a witness saw. The pair of officers pull over every truck that even remotely looks like the suspect vehicle. No joy there, so they go plainclothes on disguised motorcycles. One evening, Meeker lucks onto the right truck and trails it. The two in the truck cab, driver Cott and his buddy, Campbell, manage to shake Meeker off their tail. Meeker quickly realizes he has lost the truck and backtracks. He follows a small dirt rode off the highway and spots the truck. It is offloading some cattle at a small slaughterhouse. Meeker hides his bike in the brush and heads in for a closer look see. He sees all he needs to and is about to head back to his bike to radio for backup, when he is discovered by Campbell and company. Meeker manages to get in a couple of punches and then draw his revolver. Shots are exchanged with Campbell getting blown down for a ten count. A full-fledged, drag out fistfight between Cott and Meeker is needed before Meeker can get away. Meeker hotfoots it to his bike and calls for some pronto type help. Horton, Keenan Wynn and several carloads of LA's finest, arrive in the best tradition of the cavalry to save the day. All the bad guys are rounded up and their operation closed down. This one starts out like a recruitment film for the L.A. Police Department. It does change pace at about the 35 minute mark and goes quickly from first, to fourth gear. It then plays out for the next 35 like a fast paced cops and robbers film of the 40's. I must admit I was not expecting much from the film but was pleased with the bang-up ending. The shootout and fight in the darkened slaughterhouse is handled very well. It was interesting to see an unbilled Chuck Connors (RIFLEMAN) with a small bit as a LA cop. Running for only 69 minutes, it does not overstay its welcome. The director of this quickie was Fred M Wilcox. Wilcox only made 10 films of which LASSIE COME HOME and FORBIDDEN PLANET would be the best known. The d of p was Ray June. June, a long time MGM hand, worked mainly on comedy features. Some of these include, I DOOD IT, A SOUTHERN YANKEE, CALLOWAY WENT THAT AWAY, HOUSEBOAT and THE COURT JESTER. He did touch on film noir with SHADOW ON THE WALL.

The first half of this modest 69-minute movie tells, in semi-documentary fashion, of the training of rookie cops in early 1950s Los Angeles. Needless to say, all these rookies are white males but it's the "dated" quality of the movie which lends it a curiosity value as an artifact of its time. Police buffs should enjoy looking over the equipment, the uniforms, the training techniques, the investigation methods, etc.A let's-catch-the-cop-killers plot takes over in the second half. It's minor stuff but affords an opportunity to look over a cast soon to find greater success in TV westerns. There's Robert ("Wagon Train") Horton and Jeff ("Jefferson Drum") Richards and -- in a small part -- Chuck ("The Rifleman") Connors. Rounding out the cast of cops are Ralph Meeker and Keenan Wynn. There's a certain "fetish" appeal in seeing these men in boots and leather jackets and motorcycle pants, and Meeker, Horton, and Richards also do a "beefcake" scene by a lake where they appear in swimsuits. (Richards must have tipped the wardrobe department to give him the snuggest-fitting suit.) A few scenes appear to be shot on actual L.A. streets but much of it is recognizable as the MGM back-lot. Somewhere, on one of those hills, Robert Horton would soon be stripped to his shorts and tortured by North Korean guards in "Prisoner of War."Director Fred Wilcox later helmed the classic "Forbidden Planet."