Set largely aboard a ship, this noir-ish programmer could be seen as the poor man’s JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1942) – the splendid (if relatively neglected) Orson Welles thriller; on the other hand, the villain of the piece was all-too-obviously modeled on Sidney Greenstreet’s character from THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)!
The object of contention, this time around, is nothing more remarkable than an inheritance – which the hero (Robert Lowery) catches a run-down steamer in order to acquire; however, he stumbles on an insurance-fraud scheme involving the skipper and mate of the vessel (which the steward and a former chanteuse – pretty Phyllis Brooks – are actually investigating incognito in their own right). Typically, hero and heroine begin on the wrong foot but soon discover they’re made for each other (despite her being coveted by one other shady passenger on board). Eventually, a couple of attempts are made on Lowery’s life and Brooks is kidnapped by the villain and his accomplice (who join the party en route) in order to hand over the letter that would lay claim to the money awaiting the hero – he’s not personally known to the notary, so anyone could pass for him!
Despite a trim length of just 61 minutes, the film is slow-going and, frankly, too dull to be engaging – nor is it helped, for that matter, by the wholly artificial fog-bound atmosphere…
The object of contention, this time around, is nothing more remarkable than an inheritance – which the hero (Robert Lowery) catches a run-down steamer in order to acquire; however, he stumbles on an insurance-fraud scheme involving the skipper and mate of the vessel (which the steward and a former chanteuse – pretty Phyllis Brooks – are actually investigating incognito in their own right). Typically, hero and heroine begin on the wrong foot but soon discover they’re made for each other (despite her being coveted by one other shady passenger on board). Eventually, a couple of attempts are made on Lowery’s life and Brooks is kidnapped by the villain and his accomplice (who join the party en route) in order to hand over the letter that would lay claim to the money awaiting the hero – he’s not personally known to the notary, so anyone could pass for him!
Despite a trim length of just 61 minutes, the film is slow-going and, frankly, too dull to be engaging – nor is it helped, for that matter, by the wholly artificial fog-bound atmosphere…