Smashing The Vice Trust - Poverty Row Movie Poster 1937 AP1661

In a meeting with the leaders of his vice syndicate, gangster boss James "Lucky" Lombardo complains that his profits are down. He demands that his henchmen get new, younger and prettier girls for his bordellos. When one of his henchmen, Eddie, refuses to kidnap any more high school girls, "Lucky" has him killed. "Lucky" then has his lawyer, Martin Standish, start a civic clean-up campaign, aimed at the streetwalkers not on "Lucky's" payroll. While his henchmen kidnap new girls from the local high schools and dance halls, "Lucky" sends his top assistant, Louise, and her brother Harry to the deep South in search of innocent girls. Louise and Harry arrive in their home town and visit their old neighbors, the Bacons. Mrs. Bacon tells them that her husband died a few years ago, leaving her to bring up her two teenage daughters alone. The daughters provide entertainment after dinner; Lois plays the piano while her younger sister, Jane, does an acrobatic dance. Louise is impressed by the beauty of both girls, and tells Mrs. Bacon that they should move to the city with her and work in her beauty shop. Harry, in a show of consciousness, tries to stop his sister, but she remains firm. Back in the city, Lois refuses to prostitute herself, and Harry, now in love with her, protects her from the ire of his sister. Louise then goes to "Lucky" behind Harry's back, but the mobster, too, falls for Lois. Pretending to be a theatrical agent, "Lucky" courts Lois by day, while running his "business" by night. When "Lucky's" henchmen close down a bordello which refuses to pay for their "protection," its madam goes to the district attorney to swear out a warrant for "Lucky." "Lucky" goes into hiding, and, in the meanwhile, Lois falls in love with Phil Brown, a struggling young doctor. The lovers become engaged, but when Lois goes to Louise's to announce her betrothal, the police arrive, looking for one of the kidnapped girls, who commits suicide rather than have her sorry fate discovered. When Lois goes to Phil's office, his uncle, John Brown, recognizes her from Louise's and thinks she is a prostitute, but Phil, knowing better, goes through with the marriage. Their bliss is short-lived when "Lucky" returns to town and learns of Lois's marriage. "Lucky" tortures Harry to learn Lois's location, then goes to the Brown home and kidnaps her. Back at his office, "Lucky" attempts to rape Lois just as the police arrive. When "Lucky" is put on trial, Lois, Louise, the madam, and some of the kidnapped girls testify and he is sentenced to twenty years to life. Finally free of "Lucky," Lois once again enjoys domesticity with Phil.