Buyer Beware (1940)

• 67%
• 1940
• Crime
• Drama
• Joseph M. Newman
• Charles Arnt
• Hugh Beaumont
• Egon Brecher

Police Inspector William C. Thomas, introduced by the MGM crime reporter, talks about the crime of merchants dealing in stolen goods, and the harm it brings both by supporting the criminal, and bringing merchandise to the market that may have no quality control. He tells the story of Merchandise Distributors, who deals in stolen goods, and one of their customers, Carter & Collins Druggists. One of the owners of the drug store, Les Carter, convinces his partner, George Collins, to buy from Merchandise Distributors because of their low price which would help them get out of their financial difficulty. Carter knows the goods are stolen, and Collins only suspects, but the lure of the easy money to help his family is too much to resist for Collins to say no. However, their association with Merchandise Distributors takes a turn for the worse when Collins contemplates getting out of this arrangement, and when the goods they are selling are the drugs themselves, which may have questionable origins. The police are aware of the thefts, and have to work fast before a possible flood of questionable drugs hits the market.