Bombay Clipper (1941) Poster

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5/10
War Time Diamond Smuggling
Mike-7642 January 2012
Foreign correspondent Jim Wilson is trying to get a big break on a story while at the same time trying to please his fiancé Frankie by settling down. Jim gets a break on a case where diamonds will be transported on the Bombay Clipper plane where they will be eventually cut for the war effort which will also bring out spies trying to abduct the gems. When one thief is killed on board it seems like much of the threat is over, but he was only small fry and the head of the smugglers still plans to get the gems, which were given to Frankie.

Decent and pedestrian affair only hampered by the fact that the United States wasn't at war when the picture was filmed and we don't have the actual Nazi or Japanese factions named in the film to root against. Nice dialogue between Gargan & Hervey as well as a very good closing scene with the two. Mary Gordon has probably her best non-Mrs. Watson role in the film in a fun gambling scene. Much of the revelation at the end of the film seems trite & rushed and probably could have used some script doctoring.

Rating, 5 out of 10
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5/10
There's gotta be a scoop even if it gets in the way of matrimony.
mark.waltz28 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This is your typical B Universal thriller/adventure, set in an exotic spot and not at all feeling exotic. This stars William Gargan as a slick reporter going from one story to another and leaving fiancée Irene Hervey behind. A mystery surrounding missing diamonds leads to several murders, and when an associate of Gargan's is brutally killed, this leads to a hunt for the vicious killers who will stop at nothing to retrieve these obviously very valuable gems.

While Hervey and Gargan exchange some sassy dialog, they really have no spark. Comedy is added on in the form of Lloyd Corrigan as Gargan's happy go-lucky associate who pays dearly for knowing too much, and Mary Gordon is very cheery as a Scottish passenger whose key scene at a gambling table ends up being a letdown. Exotic looking Turhan Bey adds some mystery as a nefarious looking participant in the action. This is one of those complex action thrillers you need to stay connected with or you'll miss out in important details. I found this just average, nothing really special other maybe than a small role played by the future "Cobra Woman", Maria Montez, quite noticeable in her one scene but given nothing of consequence.
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5/10
"Sorry I'm late. I sorta got tied up"
hwg1957-102-26570414 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A maharajah's diamonds, a secret gift to the British authorities, are being smuggled out on a Bombay clipper and a foreign correspondent, several thieves and agents of some kind are on board to steal or protect them. Not a bad film but no more than routine. The second half almost seems like it's repeating the first half. The correspondent Jim Wilson as played by William Gargan is not that interesting and his complications with his wife Frankie played by Irene Hervey slow the film down. More interesting are Lloyd Corrigan as the jocular businessman Lewis, Mary Gordon as the older lady Abigail with a penchant for poker and in a small role the exotic Maria Montez. It was photographed by the adept Stanley Cortez but the version I watched was a bad print which was a shame as sometimes it was difficult to know who was doing what to whom!
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Above Average 'B' Programmer
GManfred30 May 2012
I was expecting another B potboiler from Universal but I was pleasantly surprised. I always appreciate being pleasantly surprised. This picture has a lot of plot and a script that was well thought out. The website says it was an original screenplay and it makes you wonder what a bigger studio could have done with this one.

William Gargan is a reporter in the far east who is always on the lookout for a hot scoop. Irene Hervey is his fiancé who keeps getting left at the altar. He hears about a jewelry shipment and feels it would be an important story. So do the 'bad guys'. The hook to this story is that you can never tell which are the 'good guys' and which are the 'bad guys'. Much of the story takes place on an airliner carrying the shipment of jewels. It is an absorbing and an interesting movie which ought to be seen by more people than apparently have seen it.

Two thoughts; Irene Hervey is gorgeous - wonder why she didn't have a bigger career. She was married to Allan Jones, who had the right idea. Second, this could have been a more 'important' movie if more money were spent on the production. Some of the sets seem as if they could have fallen over and necessitated retakes of some scenes.

I saw it at Cinevent, Columbus, O., 5/12, but I don't know how you can see it, since it's not available in any format. Maybe it will show up on TCM.
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8/10
A connoisseur's delight.
JohnHowardReid19 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Here's another Universal "B" picture with a very interesting cast. The script is good too. And as for the director, the films of John Rawlins are always worth seeming, and "Bombay Clipper" is definitely no exception. In fact, it is definitely one of his best!

Another point in the movie's favor is that it was photographed by Stanley Cortez, one of Hollywood's finest cameramen. If anything, Cortez's work here is quite exceptional, In fact, I would describe it as a connoisseur's delight.

The players are first-rate too! The always impressive William Gargan (pronounced "Garrie'gun") has the lead role and he is most ably supported by Maria Montez, Irene Hervey, Charles Lang, and in a smaller role, Turhan Bey (pronounced "Two-ron-bay").

Murder on a luxury liner is always fascinating theme - and this movie is certainly no exception!
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A quick adventure and mystery yarn.
searchanddestroy-113 April 2009
Typical product of Universal studios from this decade, 40's. It could have been made by George Waggner, Lew Landers or Christy Cabanne. This kind of flicks never ran beyond one hour. No boredom in them. Talkatives, action packed in the same time. Mixture of comedy, romance, crime, a little drama and adventure.

This story of a near married detective who has to protect diamonds is rather stereotype, nothing special. Except the climax, at the end, aboard the plane. But it's not AIR FORCE ONE !! I comment it before forgetting...But the purpose in seeing this kind of product is fighting boredom, and replunge into 40's atmosphere. The characters are not deeply described, of course. And it's always a pleasure to see Maria Montez. She has not the lead, but who cares?
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8/10
Excellent B Movie
boblipton10 February 2024
It's possible that I've been looking at so many poor movies over the last couple of days that anything decent looks great, but this is a terrific little B movie. William Gargan and Irene Hervey are freshly married and on the air flight from Bombay to Manila. Miss Hervey is upset with her groom because he's promised to give up being a roving reporter and get a desk job immediately; here he is working a story about a million dollars of diamonds that a maharajah is shipping to the US. She doesn't know he's doing it for his old boss in return for that promised desk job. The diamonds are on board, but so are a bunch of odd characters. When the diamonds turn up in Miss Hervey's luggage, and there's a corpse on board, things get considerably more interesting.

There are some unexpected twists, a lot of good humor, and an exciting and redemptive ending. Along the way there are some very good roles for Lloyd Corrigan, Turhan Bey, and even Mary Gordon, sporting as broad a Scots accent as she ever did. It's quite obviously a B movie from Universal shot on a total of three sets and one on the studio lot, but Universal knew how to stretch a dollar, and the script by Roy Chanslor, and Stanley Rubin plays to the cast's strengths. Director John Rawlins was never nominated for an Oscar, but he knew how to take a fanciful situation and get some chuckles and suspense out of it.
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