Insurance investigator Eric Gregg shows great promise, but he is not advancing fast enough in his career to suit his wife Nona. Eric’s shrewd investigation saves the company from liability in a shoe company fire and earns him a raise. Nona is pleased because she is anxious for a fur coat and a new apartment, but when she learns that the raise will not become effective for several weeks, she decides to borrow money to cover her expenses. She approaches the Friend in Need company, a target of Eric’s investigations, and they willingly make the loan. When she misses a payment, she offers the company a deal. With her help, the company stages an accident, and when Eric discovers she is a witness, he does not investigate further, trusting her testimony. Dawson, the loan company’s ally in the insurance office, discredits Eric and he is fired. Eric confronts Nona and she admits her participation in the fraud and leaves him. Unable to find another job, Eric asks cigarette girl Patricia Carmody to help him with a scheme of his own. Together, the two run successful insurance frauds, forcing his former employer to pay out large sums for claims against them. They attract the attention of Blair Thurston, the head of the loan company, who offers them a job. Eric arranges a high paying scam with Patricia playing the accident victim. Just before they implement the plan, Eric learns that Nona and Thurston are to be married. After the accident, Patricia is called as a witness, but instead of testifying, she reveals that she and Eric were working to uncover Thurston’s gang. The gang, including Nona, are jailed, and Eric gets his old job back. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Watch Accidents Will Happen (1938)
