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71 minutes of noir chaos, smuggled goods, and Jim Backus before he was Mr. Magoo.
IMDb
64

Customs Agent (1950)

Poverty Row noirB-movie hustlepre-Commie paranoia

Overview

DramaCrime

An undercover agent tracks a medicine black market from China to California.

Flag of USUS
Content warning
b moviesmuggling (contraband)customs agent
institutional corruptionpostwar anxietymoral compromise

Standout Aspects

Acting

Jim Backus steals scenes as a jaded Shanghai agent.

Production

Stock footage masquerading as international travel — charmingly cheap.

Best for:Solo: Perfect midnight rabbit hole for noir completionists.·Background: Short enough you can half-watch while doomscrolling.
S

Director

Seymour Friedman

ReleasedMay 18, 1950
Runtime1h 11m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feellight
Columbia Pictures

Top Cast

William Eythe

William Eythe

Bert Stewart

Marjorie Reynolds

Marjorie Reynolds

Lucille Gerrard

Griff Barnett

Griff Barnett

Charles McGraw

Howard St. John

Howard St. John

Charles Johnson

Jim Backus

Jim Backus

Shanghai Chief Agent Thomas Jacoby

Robert Shayne

Robert Shayne

West Coast Chief Agent J.G. Goff

Denver Pyle

Denver Pyle

Al

Ask about Customs Agent

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Seymour Friedman directed 17 features in 5 years, mostly second-tier programmers like this one.

Cultural

The 'medicine black market' plot thinly veils Red Scare anxieties about Chinese communism infiltrating America.

Gallery

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