Special Investigator 1936

Bill Fenwick, played by Richard Dix, is a highly successful criminal defense attorney whose reputation has soared due to his ability to get gangsters and notorious wrongdoers acquitted. His wealth and prominence in the legal world have made him a prominent figure, yet his success is built on a morally questionable foundation. Despite his outward confidence and indifference, he is secretly troubled by the darkness of his career and the moral compromises it entails.

His brother, Owen Davis Jr., arrives and acts as a voice of conscience, being an agent for the Justice Department. Their conversation reveals a familial tension—Bill dismisses his brother’s warnings and criticisms, maintaining a facade of detachment from the consequences of his work. This tension is further complicated by Bill’s personal life, especially with his materialistic, amoral girlfriend, Judy, portrayed by Sheila Terry. After she criticizes him for his morally gray career, Bill quickly ends the relationship, recognizing the emptiness it brings him.

The plot thickens when Inspector Russell Hicks informs Bill that his brother has been killed during an attempted mafia hit. The victim was a witness with crucial information tying half a million dollars worth of stolen gold bullion to the infamous racketeer J. Carroll Naish, Edward J. Selton. Driven by a sense of justice and revenge, Bill decides to abandon his law practice and go undercover to uncover the mastermind behind his brother’s murder.

To gather information, Bill adopts the alias “Richard Galt” and sets up a clandestine law office in Quartzburg, Nevada. His suspicion is that the recent gold strike at the abandoned Gold Bar Ranch might be a cover-up for transporting stolen bullion, camouflaged as unproductive ore—a common tactic used by the mob to hide illicit gains. His investigative efforts lead him to cross paths with Margaret Callahan as Virginia Selton, the sister of Edward Selton, who arrives to care for her wounded brother after a shootout that also claimed George Fenwick’s life.

Virginia’s arrival causes suspicion among the gang members, especially among the tough enforcer Joe Sawyer, who plays Jim Plummer. Bill, intent on keeping a low profile, carefully tracks Virginia when she stops for gas in Reno. Disguised as just another small-town lawyer, he spots her and follows her to the ranch, where she meets with a shady doctor, Jed Prouty, and tends to her brother. Bill intervenes during her trip, even draining her car’s gas to ensure she stays close, all while attempting to gather intelligence.

As days go by, Bill returns to the ranch multiple times, trying to establish a connection with Virginia and spying on the gang’s activities. Tensions increase when Jim Plummer and the gang grow wary of his true intentions, leading to a violent attempt on Bill’s life during a horseback ride—Dutch, a gangster, shooting at Bill and injuring Virginia in the process. Despite the danger, the gang’s boss, Edward Selton, orders Plummer to assert dominance and keep Bill under watch.

Meanwhile, government agents prepare for a raid at midnight. Bill, realizing the danger Virginia is in, takes her out for dancing in Reno to keep her safe, but the gang’s suspicions prompt a confrontation. Bill’s former girlfriend Judy and his ex-client Bennie Grey recognize him and inadvertently expose his true identity. With this knowledge, Bill urgently returns to Quartzburg, locking Virginia in a garage for her protection. Unaware of the true danger, Virginia’s instincts tell her something is wrong, and she escapes, rushing back to the ranch.

The climax unfolds as the authorities move in for the raid, and the gang, led by Plummer, attempts to seize the stolen gold and flee, taking Virginia hostage to use as leverage. Edward Selton, believing his sister has betrayed him, calls her a “rat” when he perceives her actions as double-crossing him, only to learn she is in love with Bill. Selton ultimately urges Virginia to run to safety, and a fierce gunfight erupts. Selton, believing his gang is traitorous, fights back, firing wildly in a dramatic showdown.

In the chaos, the gang tries to escape but is confronted and gunned down by the police. Bill finds Virginia safe inside the ranch house, only to be confronted by Selton, who holds a gun on him. Selton offers to surrender himself if Bill will represent him to avoid the death penalty. However, Bill refuses, reminding him of his role in his brother’s death. As Selton succumbs to his wounds, Virginia and Bill are finally free to be together, with the story ending on a note of justice and redemption amid the tumult of crime and deception.