Summary
An undercover Border Patrol agent pretends to be a stunt pilot to bust up a smuggling ring operating near the Mexican border. It is a messy, quick-moving bit of 1930s fluff that features a lot of airplanes and even more bad decisions.
Synopsis
When a new airport is opened at Bay Beach, a small town close to the Mexican border, U.S. Border Patrol agents decide to send an undercover man to investigate the town's link to a rash of drug and illegal alien smuggling. Daring flyer Brad Allerton is selected to impersonate Bud Langton, a stunt pilot who was to perform at the airport's dedication but is instead being questioned by Eastern police. Brad's performance thrills the crowd, especially Natalie, the daughter of J. T. Adams, who is a prominent local politician.
While Brad and Natalie are falling in love at first sight, John Moran, a casino owner and the head of the smuggling ring, confers with Adams. Although Adams has only a financial interest in the smuggling, he is too deeply involved to protest when Moran orders his henchman George to kill Dodie Harmon, a member of the gang who has unwisely demanded a larger share of the profits. When Natalie and Brad visit Moran's casino soon after the show, Brad is introduced to entertainer Sonia, who was once the girl friend of the real Langton and is now engaged to Dodie. Sonia agrees to keep Brad's identity a secret, although the familiarity they must assume incurs Natalie's jealousy.
As time passes, Brad gains Moran's confidence, while Sonia learns of Dodie's death and suspects her hated employer. Moran hires Brad to work in the smuggling ring and sends him across the border to Chuck Bailey's inn. Having gathered enough evidence to arrest Moran and Adams, Brad flies back to Bay Beach, and is about to apprehend the criminals, when Moran orders him to take Sonia to Bailey to be disposed of. Brad learns that Sonia has been loudly proclaiming her suspicions concerning Dodie's death, and so Moran has gotten her drunk in order to make her more manageable during the flight.
Anxious to find a way to save Sonia, Brad agrees to perform the errand and takes off. During the flight, however, Moran learns that the real Brad is now dead and orders Bailey to kill both Sonia and Brad. Adams overhears the order and protests, and is killed by George. Brad manages to overcome Bailey and his men, thereby saving Sonia, then flies back to round up Moran and George.
The culprits try to flee in Moran's car, but Brad follows and shoots at them with his machine gun. He forces their car off a cliff and both men perish. The rest of the gang is then apprehended, but no word of Adams' involvement ever reaches the press, and the grateful Natalie takes off on a honeymoon flight with Brad.
Review Excerpt
"Is it worth the watch?
If you have a soft spot for 1930s B-movies where the plot moves faster than the actual planes, maybe. If you need logic or, you know, actual character development, skip it. It's a quick, breezy watch that feels like it was filmed over a long weekend, which is sort of its charm.
The whole thing hinges on Brad Allerton, a pilot who decides that the best way to catch drug smugglers is to just pretend to be another pilot. It's the kind of logic only found in old movies. Nobod..."
