Dangerous Freight (1936)

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Movie
German title Dangerous cargo
Original title Human cargo
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1936
length 66 minutes
Rod
Director Allan Dwan
script Doris Malloy ,
Jefferson Parker
production Sol M. Wurtzel
music Samuel Kaylin
camera Daniel B. Clark
cut Louis R. Loeffler
occupation

Dangerous cargo (original title: Human Cargo ) is an American film drama with Claire Trevor and Brian Donlevy from 1936. The novel I Will Be Faithful by Kathleen Shepard served as a literary template .

action

Reporter Patrick “Packy” Campbell reveals in a newspaper article that around 10,000 illegal immigrants are smuggled across the border into the United States every month and then blackmailed by the traffickers with threats of arrest. One day Bonnie Brewster, the newspaper sponsor's young daughter, walks into Packy's office hoping to become a reporter herself. Packy spontaneously suggests that they accompany him on the search for a new story that evening. In a nightclub, he sends Bonnie into the dressing room of the dancer Carmen Zoro while she performs on the dance floor. She's supposed to be looking for a gangster named Baretto there. This succeeds in luring Bonnie into a trap. But when the police arrive, he dies from an officer’s bullet.

In order to tell Carmen's story about her illegal immigration to his readers and also to protect them from reprisals by the gangsters, Packy hides her in his apartment together with an editor who is supposed to keep her company. Since Packy allowed Bonnie to be arrested by the police in the nightclub, she wants to return the favor by putting District Attorney Joe Carey on him, who then takes both Packy and Carmen into custody. At the same time, Bonnie manages to find a job with another newspaper. Now she wants to publish Carmen's story herself. But when Carmen is finally ready to reveal the name of the gang boss, she is shot dead cold by a killer named Tony Sculla. While Bonnie is devastated, Packy brings the story out immediately. Together they want to find out more details.

To do this, they go on board the Northern Star ocean liner in Canada and pretend to be a French couple who want to travel to the United States. For the crossing they book the bridal suite for $ 450. At first, their disguise seems to work. However, the smuggling gang soon finds out about them, and so Packy and Bonnie are taken off the ship in a harbor and carried off by Tony Sculla in a truck. Packy and Bonnie manage to overpower Sculla and get him to Packy's office. There Packy and his boss Lionel Crocker make the gangster talk. It turns out that the head of the gang is the prominent citizen Gilbert Fender. Meanwhile, Bonnie tries to find District Attorney Joe Carey. She eventually arrives at the house of Fender, who is friends with Carey. While waiting for Carey, she proudly tells Fender about her and Packy's research. In view of this, Fender does not hesitate and takes Bonnie prisoner. Shortly afterwards, Packy, the police and Carey also arrive at Fender's property. There Packy finds Bonnie's bracelet and arrests Fender and his accomplices with the police. When Packy frees Bonnie, she happily falls into his arms.

background

Dangerous cargo was produced by Sol M. Wurtzel on behalf of 20th Century Fox . Since the film was quite successful at the box office for its rather low budget , Wurtzel subsequently produced more films about exposé stories of newspaper reporters, which in 1938 found a brief flowering in a small series called The Roving Reporters .

For Rita Hayworth , who still appeared here under the name Rita Cansino, it was the last film under her contract with Fox Film Corporation . After this was dissolved by studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck , she made her way as a freelance actress with B-films by small independent production companies before she was signed by Columbia Pictures in 1937 .

Reviews

Photoplay attested the leading actors Brian Donlevy and Claire Trevor "strong ideas in this exciting revelatory story about one of the thriving businesses of these days - smuggling illegal immigrants". The Motion Picture Herald found the film “played realistically and convincingly”. The performances of the main actors are "consistently good".

Variety said that while Brian Donlevy was "a competent actor" and could play a reporter "just as well" "as any other role", he still seemed "out of place". Rita Hayworth, who is “entangled with the gangsters” in her role, is “a pretty brunette and not bad in her portrayal either”. For Hal Erickson of the All Movie Guide , Dangerous Cargo was "a lively, ironic drama". Rita Hayworth is also "quite seductive as a Latin American dancer".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 68.
  2. ↑ "Brian Donlevy and Claire Trevor give robust performances in this exciting exposé of one of the flourishing rackets of the day - the smuggling of aliens." Photoplay quot. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 68.
  3. ↑ “The picture is acted with vigorous realism and conviction. [...] Performances on the part of the principals are uniformly good. " Motion Picture Herald quot. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 68.
  4. ^ “Donlevy is a competent workman and can play a reporter as well as most any other role, but he looks out of place. [...] Rita Hayworth as a dancer who's mixed up with the gangsters is a good looking brunet and not bad on performance. " See Human Cargo . In: Variety , 1936.
  5. ↑ “ Human Cargo is a lively, tongue-in-cheek melodrama […]. Rita Cansino, still not yet billed as Rita Hayworth, is quite alluring as a Latina dancer. " Hal Erickson , cf. omovie.com