Cubussoli
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Gutsycurene
Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
kapelusznik18
***SPOILERS**** Hot shot pilot for the China Clipper co. Lt. "Bras-Balls" Bancroft played by future US President and leader of the free world Ronald Wilson Reagan is recruited by his good friend Tom Saxby, John Litel, as an undercover agent for the US Secret Service. Brsss' job is to stop a ruthless gang smuggling aliens of all types and from all nations illegally into the United States.Using the cover of a convicted counterfeiter Brass is sent to federal prison and made Earl "Ace" Hemrich's played by Bernard Nedall,who was convicted of flying illegal aliens into the country, cell-mate. With "Ace" letting Brass in on a prison break the next day Brass goes along with him only to later, after crashing out of jail, getting re-captured and sent to do hard time on the notorious "Rock" Alcatraz. But instead of being sent to the "Rock" Brass is released and given clearance by his boss Saxby to get a job as a pilot for the L.A Taxi co. that Ace used to fly in illegal aliens for.****SPOILERS**** Things get very "bally" for Brass-Balls when Ace escapes from prison and gets back to see his boss of the air freight company Jim Cameron, James Stephenson, that Brass is working for. At first talking his way out of trouble in him convincing Cameron that he made a deal with the government to get out of prison and later slugging it out with a number of his goons-including Ace- to show that he's all right Brass ends up getting Cameron together with a number of illegal aliens on his plane to fly back, from Mexico, to the states. Where unknown to Cameron the Feds as well as FBI Agents are waiting to arrest him when the plane lands.
gkeith_1
I'll give it a 10. If I watch a whole movie, usually I like it. Reagan, even though not my political party, I thought was an excellent actor. Witness Kings Row and Bedtime for Bonzo. Lovely to see Eddie Foy, Jr. Of course, he could sing. He came from a famous musical family, lol. All the bad guys . . . They never had a chance. The fed guy was great... John Litel. Foy was great in assisting Reagan in kapowing said bad guys. The women were good in this film, and both pretty and well-dressed. 1942 brought another movie with Foy, in Yankee Doodle Dandy (which I saw), appearing as his famous father, Eddie Foy, Sr. Loved seeing all the miniature aircraft in the skies. Also, I marveled at the obvious stuntpersons it took to make this film. No dance movie here, but I actually liked it. 10/10
blanche-2
Criminals bring illegal aliens into the U.S. from Mexico. Many of these illegals are criminals. When the plane is nearly captured by a Secret Service agent, the agent and the passengers are all killed.A young pilot (Ronald Reagan) is asked by the Secret Service to get in with the smuggling ring; to do so, they have to give him a criminal record. The government frames him and he spends some time in prison, and afterward, he connects with the criminals and gets into the gang.Well-paced B movie from Warners and entertaining. Reagan as always is pleasant and likable, and not yet a star. That and politics would come later.
Michael Morrison
Too many people even today still don't realize the "B" designation merely meant lower budget -- or, sometimes, low budget.This particular "B" movie -- the first in a series -- didn't cost as much to make as, say, an equally action-packed flick with Errol Flynn, but there is still an entertaining aspect.The cast is a good one, with some top-notch talent not even getting screen credit. Such stellar names as John Hamilton, and Eddy Chandler and Lane Chandler, Pierre Watkin and Pat O'Malley, are not names at all, until a fan comes to IMDb to look.Ronald Reagan is the star, and he was still looking to break out of the ranks, after being overshadowed (and I honestly don't understand why, after seeing the film recently) in "Brother Rat" by Eddie Albert.Yes, Albert turned into a great actor, but in "Brother Rat" he was rather blah, possibly because his character was, and Reagan came across stronger, again possibly because of his character.In this movie, Reagan shines: He is a very good-looking man, with a great smile, and he handles the action scenes well, and, perhaps most important, he displays a very winning personality.The Brass Bancroft character appeared in several more films of this popular series and finally, after doing well as secondary characters in bigger-budget movies (with the like of Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart), he got his chance at stardom.This "Secret Service" entry might not seem like anything startlingly new today, but in 1939 it broke some ground. Right at the beginning, when the pilot fears being caught carrying illegal aliens, the horrific act surely shocked audiences.I've been wanting for years to see the Bancroft series or at least a Bancroft movie, and finally, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I have. All in all, it's a good story with a million-dollar cast.
