mark.waltz 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.

GManfred 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.

Mike-764 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

GUENOT PHILIPPE 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?