Society Smugglers (1939)

Written by CinemaSerf on June 22, 2022

Having just watched the "Poseidon Adventure" (1972) it thought I ought to stick to the maritime theme and watch this rather enjoyable, if pretty procedural smuggling yarn. Preston Foster has some charm as "Sully" and Irene Harvey some pluck as "Joan", involved in an investigation by the US treasury department into a clever criminal operation that uses some pretty ingenious publicity stunts and willing tourists to distribute their illicit contraband. There's plenty of chemistry between the two in the lead; it moves along at a fairly ripping pace - with the occasional bit of wit and the odd twist to keep it interesting. The ending isn't up to much, and the romance between Foster and Harvey does, on occasion, clutter up the flow of the adventure, but an adventure it is - and at just over an hour is well worth a watch.