Phantom Raiders (1940)

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Jonathan Latimer (story)
William R. Lipman (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A mysterious rash of cargo ship sinkings in Panama leads insurers Llewellyns of London to hire vacationer...

Plot Keywords:

Panama | Slang | Ship | Cargo | Cargo Ship

Cast

Walter Pidgeon	...	Nick Carter
Donald Meek	...	Mr. 'Beeswax' Bartholomew, the Bee-Man
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Mr. Al Taurez
Florence Rice	...	Cora Barnes
Nat Pendleton	...	'Gunboat' Jacklin
John Carroll	...	John Ramsell, Jr
Steffi Duna	...	Dolores
Cecil Kellaway	...	Mr. Franklin Morris
Matthew Boulton	...	John Ramsell, Sr (as Mathew Boulton)
Alec Craig	...	Andy 'Mac' MacMillan
Thomas W. Ross	...	Dr. Grisson (as Thomas Ross)
Dwight Frye	...	Eddie Anders
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hugh Beaumont	...	Seaman (scenes deleted)
William Lally	...	Port Inspector (scenes deleted)
David Newell	...	Man in Cafe (scenes deleted)
Harry Strang	...	Sailor in Cafe (scenes deleted)
William Tannen	...	Sailor (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Nick Carter in Panama (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6304)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is a quick shot of a ship's engine order telegraph, but the words are all printed backward.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Sky Murder (1940)

The Villain

In between the start of talkies and about the time of this, there were all sorts of experiments with the detective form. An amazing number, just absolutely amazing, of discrete types were invented. It was a heady time, much more ambitious and adventuresome than what we have today.

Most of the experiments failed, or course. And that's true even of experiments that were profitable enough to spawn a series. Success in this way means more than just selling tickets, which is easy enough. Its knowing when you find the bones to something you can understand and rebuild over and over in different ways. Its the difference between copying and creating and the creators will always win.

To win you need to understand and to understand you need to try and fail. This is a failure of an interesting type. It sticks to the normal three component model: the detective, the villain, the causal mechanism.

We usually these days are presented with a cool detective, in part because we rely more on actors and personalities. Unfortunately that's not very cinematic usually, so it doesn't reward. This movie treats us to pretty uninteresting detective, pretty much a dope. And his assistant is too, both comic.

Most of the attention — so far as character — is on the villain. He's supersmooth, always calm and anticipating the next move until towards the end. His weapon is the knife, which he can throw perfectly. At the beginning, he even throws a pen across a room and hits the center of the target.

Incidentally, the causal mechanics of the plot are somewhat incomprehensibly complex. There isn't much complicated in the device, but it is peculiar in a way. Its a radio that sends a triggering signal to bombs concealed on ships. These are blown up for the insurance money. What's unsettling, strange, is that the bombs are concealed in radio receivers. There's no reason for this except to make it easier for us to read.

But the business behind the scenes is what makes the plot work, all sorts of business about swapping cargo, forging inspection documents and manifestos. I admit that THIS was difficult to read because nothing could be shown. It could only be explained.

An interesting fossil, but a bad movie, even though the director had some reputation.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.