Code of the Secret Service (1939)

Brass is assigned to uncovering a counterfeiting ring that has stolen bona fide treasury plates and is converting $1 bills to $100 bills through a Mexican casino.

Director:

Noel M. Smith (as Noel Smith)

Writers:

Lee Katz (original screen play), Dean Riesner (original screen play) (as Dean Franklin)

Stars:

Ronald Reagan, Rosella Towne, Eddie Foy Jr.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ronald Reagan	...	Lt. 'Brass' Bancroft
Rosella Towne	...	Elaine
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Gabby Watters
Moroni Olsen	...	Friar Parker
Edgar Edwards	...	Ross
Jack Mower	...	Decker
John Gallaudet	...	Dan Crockett
Joe King	...	Jim Saxby (as Joseph King)
Steve Darrell	...	Butch (as Stevan Darrell)
Sol Gorss	...	Dutch
George Regas	...	Mexican Police Officer

Storyline

Dan Crackett, Secret Service Agent, is looking for a counterfeit money ring. He has tracked the stolen plates to somewhere in Mexico. In Washington, Saxby sends Brass Bancroft to El Paso to team up with Dan. They make plans to meet in a gambling saloon in Mexico called the 'Silver Slipper'. It is there that the gang kills Dan and pins the murder on Brass. Brass, with the help of Gabby and Elaine, must stay out of jail so that he can find where the press is working and who is behind the counterfeit bills.

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Plot Keywords:

counterfeiting | double feature film | song | el paso texas | juarez mexico | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Bancroft rushes onto the observation platform on the train with a woman billed as 'fat girl on train' and the subsequent struggle with his pursuers when they catch up with him appears to be missing some key, probably humorous, explanatory sequences or dialogue.

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Goofs

During the opening scene when Eddie Foy Jr. asks Reagan if he can go with him on the assignment, his hands are down by his sides in the closeup. but in the supposedly matching medium shot they are on his hips.

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Quotes

Gabby: [to Brass through a jail cell window] I'll get you outta here so fast it'll make my head swim!
Lt. 'Brass' Bancroft: Whatta yuh waitin' for?
Gabby: Wait a minute, will yuh? You better give me my book?
[Referring to his English-Spanish dictionary]
Gabby: I just thought I was askin' a girl how to get to the jail, and she slapped my face!

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Connections

Referenced in WatchMojo: Top 10 Craziest Behind the Scenes Movie Coincidences (2019)

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Soundtracks

Sweet Georgia Brown
(1925) (uncredited)
Music by Maceo Pinkard and Ben Bernie
Played when the Silver Slipper sign is first shown

User Reviews

Early Ronald Reagan as action hero...

CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE has RONALD REAGAN as an agent on the trail of counterfeiters in Mexico, with ROSELLA TOWNES as his co-star. She's pretty and earnest, resembling Lana Turner in her starlet days. Reagan handles all the action in a believable enough way, so it's surprising that the film was received so indifferently by some reviewers.

Actually, it resembles a cliffhanger that could have been used as a serial for Saturday afternoon programming in the kind of serial chapters that were used in the '30s and '40s to keep the kids in their seats. Reagan keeps finding himself and Townes in precarious situations that they have to use a little ingenuity to get out of, always escaping in time to keep one step ahead of villainous MORONI OLSEN.

Not bad at all, as these crime capers go, with Reagan and Townes both giving earnest performances in what feels like a Republic serial but is actually a Warner Bros. B-film with a brief running time.

Interesting mainly for a glimpse of early Reagan as action hero in a programmer.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 May 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Código do Serviço Secreto

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1