ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

csteidler Instantly sinister, Joseph Schildkraut gives a knife throwing lesson to some underlings. Schildkraut is delightfully wicked as a shady character who manages a night club—and also runs a ship-wrecking insurance scam.Walter Pidgeon makes his second appearance as detective Nick Carter, once again exuding self-confidence; he is again joined by Donald Meek as would-be detective Bartholomew, better known as the Bee Man. Together they gradually unravel the ship-wrecking plot with the help of the usual supporting characters—including John Carroll as a shipping magnate's son, and Florence Rice, who is quite good as the requisite beautiful young woman mixed up in the case.The setting is Panama, and while the first half of the picture moves rather slowly, it features plenty of MGM-style Panama atmosphere. Eventually the plot starts to move along and builds nicely to a truly exciting climax on board ship.Nat Pendleton is amusing as a dumb henchman who is told to "Take a walk around the block" any time there is real dirty work to be done. Meek is entertaining as always, and Pidgeon handles both the detective work and the smart-alecky dialog adeptly. Schildkraut as the villain, however, has the juiciest role.The plot is nothing special but it does include a nifty surprise or two; overall, there's not much to this picture but it's plenty easy to watch.

JohnHowardReid The second of the three "Nick Carter" movies all starring Walter Pidgeon, also features Donald Meek (again as the Bee Man), who is not only a little more subdued than usual, but plays a vital role in the fast-paced plot. This one was written by Jonathan Latimer who was soon to work closely with John Farrow on many of his films including The Big Clock, Beyond Glory, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Alias Nick Beal, Copper Canyon, Botany Bay, Submarine Command, Plunder of the Sun, Back from Eternity, etc. Support players including smooth-talking, neatly attired Joseph Schildkraut as the villains' villain, Nat Pendleton as his brain-dead offsider, Steffi Duna as a language twister, John Carroll as the heroic guy, and Florence Rice as a Clayton's heroine. (She's the heroine you have when you're not having a heroine). True, this vast assembly – and I haven't listed even half the actors with important support roles including Alec Craig, Matthew Boulton, Cecil Kellaway, Charles Coleman, Holmes Herbert – do divert our attention from Walter Pidgeon's Nick Carter, but I, for one, am not complaining.

sol ***SPOILERS*** The high flying Walter Piedgon is NYC ace detective Nick Carter who gets himself involved in an elaborate and deadly insurance fraud scheme engineered by US gangster Al Taurez, Joseph Schildkraut,south, way south, of the border in Panama.After having a number of ships's valuable cargoes, which are nothing but a bunch of sandbags, heavily insured Taruez has, from the comfort of his Colon Panama office, through high frequency radio singles set off bombs planted in the ships and have them blown up together with their crew on the high seas!It's Nick together with his side kick the Bee-Man Bartholomew, Donald Meeks, as well as his Panamanian girlfriend B-girl Delorous (Steffi Duna), who doesn't speak a word of proper English, who eventually solves the case. But not after some half dozen ships are sent to the bottom by Taurez and his hoods. Nick who at first didn't want to take on the case since he was on vacation at the time changed his mind when he spotted, after she had it out with him, pretty Cara Barnes, Florence Riuce, working at the local Morris Shipping Company. In fact it was Cora who was unknowingly used by Taurez in providing him with the information of what ships,and how heavily insured they were, were being sent out to sea. Where he then had his men plant explosives on so that he he could later,with high frequency radio waves, detonate them and collect, with an insider inside the shipping company, the insurance on them!***SPOILERS*** Nick in finding the contraption that Taurez is using to electronically blow up the targeted ships has it disarmed and tricks Taurez into getting on the one that's next to be blown up.Taurez, with Nick holding a gun on him, realizing that he's cooked if he doesn't get off the ship before midnight the time its set to explode breaks down and admits his crimes not knowing that the ship that he and Nick were on was no longer in danger of exploding! What he also should have realized is that Nick wouldn't have put his own life as well as everyone on board in danger if he knew that in fact would happen!

ORION THE HUNTER If you're a fan of the old private dick movies from the 30s & 40s then I'll bet you a wooden nickel that you're gonna like this one. It has plenty of cliche's, but remember, when this film was new a lot of the plot devices were not quite so hackneyed. The use of lighting and shadow is nicely done noir, all in glorious black & white of course. Walter Pidgeon is fine as Nick Carter. This is apparently his second time playing the streetsmart, wry humored, skirt chasing gumshoe. The rest of the cast is just fine too. It's not Bogart, Astor, Greenstreet, & Lorre; but it was released a year before that film, against which all in this genre are inevitably compared to. I really liked Nat Pendleton as tough guy "Gunboat". To sum it up, I love the corny humor and tidy endings of the films from this era. That old timey slang really cracks me up too. Say you birds, give dis picture show an even break and don't take it too seriously... I wouldn't kid ya, I'm on da level here.