Kid Glove Killer is an expanded remake of They're Always Caught (1938), a 2-reel entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series. Van Heflin stars as criminologist Gordon McKay, at present investigating the murder of of reform mayor Daniels (Samuel S. Hinds). What the audience knows, but McKay doesn't, is that the the culprit is district attorney Gerald Ladimer (Lee Bowman), ostensibly a crusader against organized crime. Thickening the plot is the fact that McKay and Ladimer are rivals for the affections of McKay's pretty lab assistant Jane Mitchell (Marsha Hunt). The question: Will McKay be able to piece together the fragmentary clues in his forensic lab before Ladimer is able to strike again? An excellent example of MGM's "B" unit at the height of its powers, Kid Glove Killer served as the feature-film directorial debut of Fred Zinnemann, who obviously was destined for bigger things.
