Think First(1939)

Think First is a 1949 crime short from the Crime Does Not Pay series. Waitress Margie Smith struggles to afford the fashionable lifestyle her peers enjoy, and when a friend convinces her that shoplifting is an easy path to success, she takes the bait. Initially, the thefts go smoothly, and Smith enjoys the trappings of wealth she couldn't otherwise afford. But the series' moral formula proves inescapable: her criminal streak unravels, leading to arrest and prosecution. Starring Laraine Day, this cautionary tale delivers the gritty, noir-tinged consequences the Crime Does Not Pay anthology was known for, reminding viewers that shortcuts always exact a price.