"This normally would be a Tracy-Gable picture," Tracy told a visiting columnist who was somehow able to get on the set, "but Gable isn't available, so I am playing his part." Added Stewart: "Yeah, and I'm playing Tracy."
Written by Frank Fenton from a Manchester Boddy story, this has some great dialogue e.g. between James Stewart (a weary war correspondent) and FBI agent John Hodiak, and between Stewart and released criminal smuggler Spencer Tracy. Thorpe wisely keeps most of Tracy's scenes in continuous takes. It's a true story about smuggling rubber out of Japan-occupied Malaya, involving Sydney Greenstreet in essentially his Casablanca role again; it was his last film after a brief nine year film career (though theatre from 1902). With a warbling but somehow unnecessary Valentina Cortese, and Lionel Barrymore. And Gilbert Roland (The Bad and the Beautiful). There's not really any action at all until an hour in.
I'm beginning to love the film music of Bronislau Kaper, born in Warsaw but working in Hollywood from 1935. You can hear here his early use of indigenous musical instruments in the score, something he did later to great effect in Lord Jim (must watch that again).
Photographed by George Folsey for MGM.
Tom (Vertigo) Helmore has a small part.
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