Bunco Squad

Master con artist Anthony Wells and his team of sham spiritualists and seance operators have found the perfect mark: a wealthy widow (Elisabeth Risdon) convinced that Wells' phony Rama Society can put the grieving woman in touch with her deceased son. The con is on, and the LAPD's Bunco squad is out to stop it in this brisk B documentary-style crime tale that features intriguing glimpses of mid-century Los Angeles locales. Robert Sterling (TV's "Topper" series) plays an investigating cop closing in on Wells (Ricardo Cortez). The cast also includes Dante - aka Dante the Magician - whose amazing stage shows were once international sensations.

RKO's BUNCO SQUAD stars Robert Sterling as Sgt. Steve Johnson, a big-city detective dedicated to tracking down con artists. His current target is a gang of slicksters who are running a successful seance racket. Wealthy Jessica Royce (Elizabeth Risdon) is on the verge of bequeathing her fortune to the crooks, in exchange for communications from her deceased son. Posing as a couple of "marks," Johnson and girlfriend Grace Bradshaw (Joan Dixon) turn the tables on con-man Anthony Wells (Ricardo Cortez) and his confreres. On hand to reveal some of the techniques used by bunco artists is Dante the Magician, aka Harry A. Janssen, making the second of his two screen appearances (the first was in Laurel & Hardy's A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO).