Appointment with Crime 1946

Leo Martin works for a criminal gang run by Gus Loman that primarily uses a smash and grab tactic. During one risky robbery heist, Leo’s wrists are crushed when a security shutter falls on them, and he is soon caught and brought to prison to serve his term. Inside, Leo keeps silent about who he works for, choosing to endure the sentence while nursing a growing anger toward Gus for abandoning him during the abortive raid.

On his release, Leo returns to Gus hoping for a place back in the operation, but Gus harshly rebuffs him, arguing that the injured wrists will keep him from doing even basic thief work. This seeds a plan of vengeance in Leo: he decides to frame Gus for murder by stealing Gus’s gun and killing the getaway driver (now driving a cab) who left him in the lurch. He manages to construct a convincing alibi to throw investigators off his trail. During this scheme he meets Carol Dane, a woman who remains unaware of his true nature, and the two begin a wary romance that adds a personal stake to the plan. Later he confronts Gus with the chilling ultimatum: if Gus won’t hand over money, Leo will hand the gun to the police and let the law do the rest.

After Gus releases the funds, Leo makes contact with Gregory Lang, an antiques dealer who hires Gus to steal jewellery and art for him, adding a dangerous layer to the plan. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Rogers begins to investigate the murder case, pressing Leo about his alibi and the movements on the night of the crime. He questions Leo’s supposed reformation, peeling back the surface of Leo’s carefully cultivated persona.

As the story unfolds, Leo and Gregory discover a brutal twist: the gun used is Gregory’s, not Gus’s, turning the whole setup on its head. Gregory’s anger runs high, and his ally schemes to murder Gus while threatening Leo into compliance. Leo suffers another crushing blow to his wrists, but a grim accord emerges: Leo will bring back the gun and steal a jewel to satisfy Gregory. Rogers continues to close in, pulling together more clues and tightening the net around Leo.

With the noose tightening, Leo retrieves the jewel and returns the gun to Gregory; a gunfight erupts, ending with Gregory dead. Desperate to escape, Leo jumps aboard a moving train with Carol, only to be confronted by her growing awareness of his deception. The chase reaches a head when Rogers arrives, ready to arrest the murderer, and Leo makes a final bid to flee through a train window—only for the window to slam shut on his wrists, sealing his fate as the law closes in.