This is the third of the Poverty Row Pine/Thomas productions I’ve watched, and it was immediately followed by another – DANGEROUS PASSAGE (1944). I’ve already forgotten all about the first two, AERIAL GUNNER (1943) and GAMBLER’S CHOICE (1944) – both starring Chester Morris (whom I hope to see presently at his prime in ALIBI [1929] and the “Standard Version” of THE BAT WHISPERS [1930]) – which I only came across last year, and these are liable to share the same fate (in fact, I’d say they’re even lesser achievements)! Anyway, here we get yet another popular actor from the 1920s and 1930s who had since slipped into B-movies, Richard Arlen (best-known for playing the hero of that much-desired-but-still-bafflingly-M.I.A.-on-DVD horror classic ISLAND OF LOST SOULS [1932]) – by the way, he was also in AERIAL GUNNER!; ditto for his leading lady Jean Parker – who had once worked for the likes of Frank Capra, George Cukor and Rene' Clair (though she did land the heroine part in a fine ‘B’ title not long after this, namely Edgar G. Ulmer’s BLUEBEARD [1944]).
For what it’s worth, the film presents an unusual slant on the typical propaganda effort churned out by Hollywood during WWII i.e. the building of a highway in Alaska that would facilitate the movement of troops, as well as their equipment and rations, preparing to ‘meet’ the Japanese army. However, the approach is strictly formula stuff – which includes romantic rivalry, comedy relief sidekick and a climax which incorporates tragedy, reconciliation, and a general best-foot-forward attitude! There’s not much else to say except that the film, thankfully brief at 67 minutes, is mildly diverting (but, as I said, totally unsurprising) along the way; incidentally, scriptwriters Lewis R. Foster and Maxwell Shane were (or would become) directors in their own right – the former had even helmed a number of classic Laurel & Hardy shorts, while the latter seemed most interested in noir films (albeit with a psychological leaning)!
