Penny Singleton stole this, and she was billed under her birth name of Dorothy McNulty. The script makes references to her legs, and in fact she was one of the prime singer-dancer performers, not just in movies but all aspects of show business.
In fact, she was eventually president of the American Guild of Variety Artists, and was the first woman president of an AFL-CIO union, leading a strike of Rockettes in 1966.
But she was so eminently watchable, even with this very minor script, very capable as performer, and just delightful to look at and listen to. Later she was the title character when Chic Young's comic strip "Blondie" was turned into a motion picture series.
In my opinion, Syd Saylor was the number two thief. He so often was cast as an at least somewhat bumbling character that seeing him here as such a strong and confident character, even though one of the villains, showed him in a new light. He stole almost every scene he was in with a great performance.
J. Carroll Naish was one of the most talented actors in Hollywood history, being able to play just about every type of role, and almost every nationality, even, as here, a United Statesian.
The two alleged heroes have pretty poor parts, though they do their best. Warren Hymer seldom got the chance to be a leading man but he showed he could do it, even with this script.
Second-billed Jeanne Madden was an excellent singer, and performed more often as a singer than actress, having only three credits listed at IMDb. Probably, with that beautiful smile, she could have done more, but now we'll never know.
Well, it lasts just an hour, and if you don't expect too much, it's a nice hour.
There is also a lesson, since the "crime" is about smuggling: Governments are quite concerned about taxing every possible item, including food. So much of what is called "crime" is really nothing but an effort by someone to keep his own money. Yet the Coast Guard here, and in real life, risks the lives of often innocent people as well as of the sailors themselves, just for government revenue.
But, again, it's a nice hour and there is a fair copy of "Sea Racketeers" at YouTube.
