Código do Serviço Secreto

Early in Ronald Reagan's career, he made some surprisingly good films such as LOVE IS ON THE AIR, BROTHER RAT and SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR. While they weren't exactly masterpieces, they were competently made and good B vehicles for the struggling young actor. However, among these films came the awful CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE--ostensibly a follow-up to SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR, though the films really aren't all that similar (besides, CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE was written by chimps, the other one was not).

Reagan once again plays the character "Brass Bancroft", though oddly, he isn't a pilot in this film nor does it have much to do with the last one--especially in tempo. Instead of an action-adventure film, this film lacks depth and has so many logical errors that it looks like a bad movie serial (such as SPY SMASHER) and condenses it all into one very brief movie. Again and again, characters defy logic and the plot is amazingly banal because the emphasis is on fist fights and guns like a bad B-Western--making Reagan seem to have the charisma of a tomato. Some examples of how bad it was were the plane Reagan rode on at the beginning of the film changed from a Lockheed airliner to a Douglas DC-3 (taking off as one and landing as the other), a car that whipped around corners on a dirt rode that sounded exactly like one on asphalt and Reagan almost getting killed again and again by the Mexican police yet all he had to do was show him his i.d. and let them know he was a US Secret Service agent!! The bottom line is that this is a super-bad B-picture that is bad enough it should be considered a "C-picture"--it's THAT bad. Warner Brothers should have been ashamed of themselves.

Code of the Secret Service (1939)

** (out of 4)

Follow up to SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR has Lt. Brass Bancroft (Ronald Reagan) trying to track down some counterfeiters. He tracks them to Mexico where they plant a murder wrap on him so Brass must escape the Mexican police while trying to do his job as well. I enjoyed the first film in the series but this one here was pretty bland from start to finish and the 58-minute running time seemed like triple that. According to the Robert Osborne introduction on TCM, Reagan was so worried this film would end his career that he begged Warner not to release it. In a compromise they agreed to release it everywhere except for Los Angeles since Reagan lived there. I don't think the film was that bad but it's still not that good. The biggest problem is that there's just no energy to the film. The first film plays out like a fun serial and this one goes for that effect but it fails because of the rather weak direction. Many films around this era dealt with money laundering and most of them handled it better than this. Eddie Foy, Jr. is certainly the best thing about the movie as he brings a few laughs. Reagan sleepwalks through the role and doesn't bring much to the film. Two more sequels would follow though.

Someone has stolen the plates used to make $100 bills, but don't worry, the Treasury Department is right on it. They know who has them, and where, and how thy're using acid to remove the ink from $1 bills so they can reprint them for enormous illegal profits. So they send Ronald Reagan, who speaks no Spanish down to Mexico across the river from Laredo, because that's how our government works. Fellow agent Charlie Foy tags along because someone has to get Reagan out of jail and make sure he hooks up with Rosella Towne. Besides, he's the brother of Bryan Foy, who runs Warner Brothers' B division. So there.

Cheaply shot by director Noel Smith, with mismatched shots and lack of attention to detail, this one was clearly intended for the Saturday matinee audience who wanted a break from the elevated performances of Gower Gulch oaters, and just wanted to see Reagan beat up Mexicans, and kiss a girl instead of a chimpanzee. It does that.

Code of the Secret Service is the second of several B films that has young B film star Ronald Reagan starring as T-Man Brass Bancroft on assignment to help break up a counterfeiting ring south of the border.

It's a good thing that Reagan went on to better parts in his film career because stuff like this could have sunk him. For reasons that the plot does not explain Reagan and sidekick Eddie Foy, Jr. are instructed not to notify the Mexican officials. That single fact is responsible for nearly all of Reagan's problems as he's accused of the murder of John Gallaudet, the original agent on the case. Reagan spends the entire film avoiding the police as well as trying to track down the ring.

Rising somewhat above this drivel is Moroni Olsen playing a padre who's definitely not what he seems. He overacts outrageously because he knows that this isn't Citizen Kane he's doing.

I'm not sure devoted fans of the Gipper could sit through this.

I don't know. If you say that, you therefore are saying Bedtime for Bonzo is better. I admit I haven't seen it, but could that be true?

I suggest anyone interested in the background of this film read the IMDb trivia section - it's very good.

People are constantly demeaning Ronald Reagan's acting - at least they have since he went into politics. His range wasn't great, but he had a certain charm in lightweight supporting roles, and he always looked good on a horse.

Apparently this was part of a B serial, the first film being Secret Service of the Air, which I also haven't seen. And may skip.

Reagan plays Brass Bancroft, who is assigned to investigate and break up a counterfeit ring operating out of Mexico. Eddie Foy Jr. Is on hand for some humor, and he actually is quite good, as are Rosella Townes and Moroni Olson.

I don't know if it's true, but a re-edit got this film into some sort of shape. I admit I didn't think it was terrible. I've seen probably 6000 films, and I can assure you I've seen much worse. I think a big deal is made about how bad it is because Reagan is in it.

Don't concentrate on the details too much, and you may find it okay. By the way, it was proven to Reagan that a book can stop a bullet.