User Reviews

Typical thriller of the war years isn't the nail biter that it promises to be. It concerns lookalike bags, one of them containing smuggled goods, and the trouble it causes Americans Charles Bickford and Evelyn Ankers who get more then they bargained for while searching for the killers of their pal Frank Albertson and try to discover the reason for the murder. The presence of Willie Fung (the Chinese Stepin Fetchit) gives an indication of how it viewed Asians, having him singing "I Dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair" as his introduction. Keye Luke is a bit more authentic, with exotic looking Turhan Bey able to pass as Asian. It's a convoluted, often predictable story, with a narrative that is not always clear. Overall, barely passable as a second feature, and certainly nothing special.

Charles Bickford plays the boss of a group of American truck drivers on the Burma Road. They truck supplies over the mountains to the Chinese army for their struggle against the Japanese. Needless to say there are spies and the like under every second rock and bush. Bickford's young brother, Frank Albertson, gets the old knife in the back when he discovers the main turncoat. Bickford rounds up the truckers and off they go to do battle with the Japanese. Not a great film by any means but it zips along at a good pace. Evelyn Ankers is quite good in a non-horror film role and the same applies with Turhan Bey. OK time-waster. (b/w)

The valiant link between the sea and the Chinese armies centered in Chungking is the Burma Road, over which valiant men blah blah blah. Well, you know how this begins, setting up another adventure of the real men who drive the trucks and the real women who love them. In particular, there's Charles Bickford, a no-nonsense man's man who's talking about heading back to Kansas City (which one he never says) to open a garage and marry that redhead, along with kid brother Frank Albertson. They've got their railroad tickets to Lashio -- or maybe they are in Lashio, wherever that is -- which leaves nice girl Evelyn Ankers, helping Cecil Kellaway run the hotel, while doing a Joan Davis imitation...... where was this sentence heading? Oh, yeah. Miss Ankers loves the big galoot. She doesn't say anything, but broadly hints with her eyes. Which Bickford doesn't notice, because he's a guy.

Then Albertson gets killed, so Bickford decides to stay and ge the dirty Jap who killed him. Because that's what men do.

In other words, it's a typical B movie, filled with Willie Fung and Turhan Bey. At just under an hour it moves too fast to confuse you.

Associate producer: Marshall Grant. Copyright 26 September 1941 by Universal Pictures. New York opening at the Rialto: 6 October 1941. Released: 17 October 1941 (USA), 8 January 1942 (Australia). 5,462 feet. 60 minutes.

COMMENT: It's rare to find a movie that presents a long-time supporting actor like Charles Bickford in the number one spot as a movie's star performer. But it's 1941 and even "B" pictures must make do with whatever talent is available. And Bickford actually comes off rather well. You can't say that he's not convincing!

The actual plot is serviceable, but nothing special: Enemy agents are targeting Allied convoys along the Burma Road. And naturally, something must be done about it! And who will lead this foray? The Charles Bickford character! Why not? He certainly looks like a seasoned professional - and acts like one too!

So, all told, what we have here is a moderately entertaining wartime propaganda piece, filmed on a comparatively large budget, and zestfully directed by Noel M. Smith. Not exactly a name to conjure with, but Smith knows his business - and that's all that counts!

There is maybe one drawback. If you can't guess the identity of the spy long before the Bicford character wakes up to him, then you obviously haven't seen too many of these pictures! On the other hand although, I readily admit that the script does play perfectly fair.