Forbidden Passage

Forbidden Passage (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lesser entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series takes a look immigrants finding illegal and dangerous ways of getting into America. This practice includes paying men to smuggle them in, which in most cases ends up causing their deaths or if they do make it here it could end up costing them a lot of money or force them into slavery. This MGM series is without question my favorite shorts series out there but this here is one of the weakest entries that I've seen. I think the biggest problem is that the story itself isn't very strong and it takes nearly until the end of the film for things to start to pick up and get entertaining. The way the group were disposing of the immigrants was an interesting thing to see and made for the most entertaining and suspenseful moment in the film. Sadly, everything leading up to this was rather poorly written and not very well executed. Addison Richards and Hugh Beaumont round out the cast.

In the first few years of the Crime Does Not Pay series, the topics usually covered murder, organized crime and the like. Starting around the time WWII broke out, the topics became less and less about these topics and more and more preachy--emphasizing good citizenship. This one manages to both be about good citizenship AND is exciting and violent--and it more watchable than most of this war-era films.

It begins as all these films do--with an actor dressed up like some government official introducing the film! I think MGM wanted to make the films seem more convincing by pulling a fast one on the audiences! The topic of "Forbidden Passage" is the business of trafficking in illegal aliens. To combat the problem, a special agent (Hugh Beaumont) goes under cover. The problem is that when the crooks think that they are about to get caught, they put the illegals in sacks, wrap chains around them and toss them into the water using a secret trap door on their ships. It really is horrifying to see them being jettisoned this way--and although it's pretty sick, it was also very exciting and the climax was entertaining. Worth your time.

This is one of five crime shorts on the Warner Bros Classic Noir collection 3,that goes under the banner of "Crime doesn't pay",so what you are getting is basically a Government propaganda film that details the smuggling of illegal aliens into the US from Europe via Central America. The US customs sets up a sting operation involving under cover agents and follows would be illegals on board the ship to Florida, its a well made film with some gruesome moments when the smugglers try and get rid of the "Live Illegals" when customs challenge them and that is basically the message of the film "Don't try and gain illegal entry, it could just cost you your life"

This is maybe one of the more harrowing of these "Crime Does Not Pay" short features as it rather graphically displays both the desperation and frustration of those trying to get into the USA and the ruthlessness of the people smugglers who charge them $2,000 each to, hopefully, achieve their goal. It's when a body weighed down with chains is discovered in Florida that the immigration service decides to investigate one such ring of criminals that operates out of Portugal via Belize - but it is a well covered track and these folks take no chances. If they think they are at risk of being caught, then it's the bilge hatches for the refugees and they just keep their cash. It serves as a sort of public information film that appears to suggest to upstanding citizens that they ought to report any unexpected arrivals in their communities to the authorities for verification and as a drama it has quite an effectively claustrophobic impact, too.

In 1941, as today, people were anxious to get into the United States. In 1941, as today, they were willing to break the law to do so. In 1941, as today, the results could be tragic, because CRIME DOES NOT PAY.

This is a superior entry in the MGM series of short subjects, in no small part due to cinematographer Jackson Rose's often striking camerawork; the lighting of the sequence in the hold of the human-smuggling ship is superb, hammering home the horror of the situation. Fred Zinneman, on the verge of being promoted to features, directs unflinchingly. Do I see roots of his THE DAY OF THE JACKAL here? Not really, but that would be a third of a century in the future.

The modern viewer will look at this movie through the lens of current events. That's not a wrong attitude to take, but it is incomplete. When looking at old movies, the modern audience should bear in mind that they are not to intended audience for what was seen as ephemera a lifetime ago. You may agree or disagree with the law, the thought behind the law or the execution of the law, yet admire the craftsmanship and artistry that went into this short's execution. In the same way, we may reluctantly admit that sometimes bad guys get away with things, but agree that as a rule, both practical and moral, that CRIME DOES NOT PAY.