Allotment Wives
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | William Nigh |
| Produced by | Jeffrey Bernerd Kay Francis (co-producer) |
| Written by | Sidney Sutherland (story and screenplay) Harvey Gates (screenplay) |
| Starring | Kay Francis Paul Kelly |
| Music by | Edward J. Kay |
| Cinematography | Harry Neumann |
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Running time
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80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Allotment Wives (1945) is a film noir starring Kay Francis in her final screen appearance. Its plot follows an army investigator who tries to shut down a scam that preys on soldiers and unknowingly falls in love with the woman behind it.
The Office of Dependency Benefits, O.D.B., is a U.S. government agency in charge of payment and financial support to women who have husbands serving in the World War II. Even after the war, the office still handles all these issues.
The story picks up when Colonel Pete Martin from the Army Intelligence is assigned to investigate a series of incorrect claims for support that has been discovered at the O.D.B. Among other things, there is evidence that some women have married multiple times to get more money. Pete's job is to find these fraudulent women and bring them to justice. Pete goes undercover and pretends to be a newspaper reporter, which used to be his occupation before the war. He begins his investigations on the West Coast, keeping an eye on the suspected women. He observes a suspicious young woman named Helen Keefe (Elizabeth Wright) give cash to an equally suspicious-looking man, George Shields, and after that she is introduced to another young man. Pete immediately orders their arrest. At the restaurant, a businesswoman named Sheila Seymour introduces herself to Pete. She claims to be the owner of an upscale beauty salon and running a canteen for servicemen. Pete is unaware that she also is the head of the racketeering business and in charge of all the allotment frauds. To her aid she has three men, Whitey Colton, Louis Moranto and Deacon Sam.
Since Pete discovered a case of ongoing fraud in the restaurant, Sheila is furious with her associates, and fires Moranto for not doing his job properly. Whitey is sent to tail Pete and keep track of his investigation. Whitey follows Pete to the O.D.B. offices and confirms he is an investigator. Pete continues to pretend being a reporter and goes to Sheila's canteen. He meets her and they agree to meet the next day for an interview as background to one of the article he pretends to write. He is still unaware of Sheila's involvement in the racket.
Sheila sees her daughter, Connie, in a bar with two soldiers and becomes upset with her behavior. Sheila tells Connie that she has to stay in school for two more months, after which they will go to South America together with Whitey. Sheila's plan is to quit the racketeering business by then.
But problem arises as Spike Malone, one of Moranto's former goons, and his girlfriend Gladys Smith, try to get into the racketeering business. They follow Sheila to her home and sees her daughter Connie. It turns out Gladys recognizes Sheila, because she used to go to reform school with her. Pete sees signs of the racketeering business when he visits the canteen, and the next time he meets Sheila, he warns her about the illegal business going on at her place of business. Gladys starts working Sheila by sending her blackmail letters. Sheila puts Whitey on catching the blackmailer and handing her over to the police. She succeeds and Gladys ends up in jail, where she meets Helen and finds out that Sheila is in fact running the whole alltment racketeering business. After telling Gladys, Helen commits suicide in the jail.
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