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Secret Service of the Air
USA 1939
produced by Jack L. Warner (executive), Hal B. Wallis (executive) for Warner Brothers
directed by Noel M.Smith
starring Ronald Reagan, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy jr, Bernard Nedell, John Litel, Ila Rhodes, Rosella Towne, Larry Williams, John Ridgely, Anthony Averill, Frank M.Thomas, Joe Cunningham, Morgan Conway, John Harron, Herbert Rawlinson
written by Raymond L.Schrock, based on material compiled by W.H. Moran
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Someone's smuggling illegal aliens across the US border via airplane,
and the Secret Service even has a vague idea who - the Los Angeles Air
Taxi Company - but can't pin anything on the outfit, especially since
their undercover agent got thrown out of a flying airplane (to his death
of course) when trying to make an arrest. So Secret Service boss Saxby
(John Litel) has ace pilot Brass Bancroft (Ronald Reagan) arrested for
importing counterfeit money into the USA, then has him sprung from prison
together with another pilot who has worked for LA Taxi, Hemrich (Bernard
Nedell), who's supposed to be Bancroft's lead to the company before going
back to jail. At first, everything goes well at LA Taxi, and Bancroft
has soon gained the trust of his boss Cameron (James Stephenson) and flies
illegals over the border on a regular basis - not too difficult a task
considering his superior flying skills. Then though Hemrich returns to LA
Taxi, and he has since guessed that Bancroft is a Fed, so he blows the
whistle on him. Somehow, Bancroft manages to turn the story in his favour
though, and lure Cameron and the rest of the bosses over the border to the
USA, but then everything is almost spoiled by his sidekick Gabby (Eddie
Foy jr), who did not know Bancroft was a Fed and called in the (Mexican)
authorities a tad too soon. It all ends happily, though. Nothing
great, but a very competently made action thriller that tells its
straightforward story in a straightforward way, doesn't lose itself in
subplots but manages to include a few interesting plottwists in the
narrative at just the right moments. Plus, the action sequences are all
very competently staged. And no matter what you thought about Ronald
Reagan the president a few decades later, he makes a likeable enough
B-movie hero here to carry the film. Sure, his performance is decidedly
less than great or even memorable, but it works quite well - and the same
is actually tru for the whole movie.
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