A police lieutenant sets out to break up a ring of tire bootleggers--criminals who sell defective tires to customers who can't get new ones because of the rubber shortage brought about by ... See full summary »
Tires were the first items to be rationed in the U.S. after its entry into WWII. The Japanese had overrun Malaya and the Dutch East Indies by March 1942, cutting off over 90% of the nation's natural rubber supply. Tire rationing began on January 5, 1942 and lasted until the end of 1945.
When Detective Harrigan books the tire bootleggers; he charges them with manslaughter because of the faulty tires that led to the death of Joe Taylor. But Joe Taylor's girlfriend was also killed in the accident, and during the stakeout, a cop was also wounded. Therefore, in reality, the mobsters would have been charged at the least with two counts of manslaughter, attempted murder and tire bootlegging.
English
$103,000 (estimated)