Frances Farmer's second film is a typical B-programmer from the Paramount lot of 1936--up and coming stars (John Howard, Robert Cummings, Grant Withers, Farmer) in a concerning the Coast Guard and smugglers. The chief points of interest are the truly exceptional aerial sequences and Farmer's early performance.
Cinematography
Exceptional aerial sequences for a 1936 B-picture.
Acting
Farmer's early star power already commanding the frame.
Director
Otho Lovering
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Frances Farmer would be blacklisted and institutionalized within a decade, making her early Paramount starlet roles feel like haunting time capsules.
The Coast Guard as heroic cinematic subject peaked in the 1930s—part of FDR-era government agency glorification that made federal service sexy.
US
