Crime Does Not Pay #79 (1949)

Spike Spitz, recently released after fifteen years in prison, returns to Bluehill under the guise of a reformed man, claiming he’s come to prospect for gold. When a mysterious message from his old partner Cockroach draws him to a remote location, old suspicions flare—especially when Sheriff Corriden, a man who once knew him, begins to watch his every move.

Jack Roscar, a fake theater producer, uses a summer stock company as a front for a string of jewel robberies, recruiting seemingly perfect servants who vanish after each crime. When a recent theft at the Watlin estate raises suspicion, police begin connecting the dots—especially after a watchman is shot during a break-in, leading them to close in on Roscar’s elaborate scheme.

Frankie Darrell and his accomplices, Walter and Benny, pull off a botched robbery that ends with a cop shot dead—though Frankie claims he didn’t pull the trigger. As Lieutenant Jim Scott, the wounded officer’s son, launches a relentless manhunt, Frankie’s paranoia grows, especially when he realizes the only one who can incriminate him is Benny, who’s now terrified and desperate to survive.