Secret Command

World War II spy thriller, taking place in a ship-building plant, with Pat OBrien, who made a whole lotta movies, mostly war times. Carol Landis, who made a good number of movies, but committed suicide at an early age, shortly after making, ironically, "The Noose". Secret Command was nominated for an Oscar, but was up against "30 seconds over Tokyo" (S Tracy, V Johnson,R Mitchum), so of course, it didn't have a chance. I thought the suspense-full high crane scenes were actually pretty good, considering when this was made, in spite of the liberal use of back-mats throughout the film. The sound also cuts out several times, and I wondered if it was dialogue editing, poor recording quality, or the fault of my local cable company. (was shown on Turner Classic Movies in June 2007). see my entry in message boards for this film for additional observations and shortcomings in the script.

This film is a slight departure for its star, Pat O'Brien, because in this film he is an undercover agent trying to expose saboteurs at a ship-building plant. He gets a job doing "grunt work" but really is outside his element--since he knows nothing about ships or machinery. His brother, Chester Morris, has no idea why Pat wants this job, but reluctantly hires him. It's obvious there is some bad blood between them, though exactly what it is doesn't ever get explained. However, Morris and the rest of the guys at the plant give him a pretty hard time until he eventually proves himself. To make the ruse more believable, Pat is set up with an instant family--a pretend wife and two cute little pretend kids who are actually war orphans. Over time, Pat can't help but love the pretend family--and looking at them, I could certainly see why.

At the plant, almost no one knows O'Brien is an agent. His contact there is Wallace Ford--who has already started to infiltrate the gang of Nazis planning on sabotaging something--exactly what and when are unknown. How this all comes together in the end is very exciting and kept my attention. In fact, the movie was so well-written and tense that it managed to somehow rise above the genre and is STILL an excellent drama...and I LOVED the ending even though it was a tad "schmaltzy".

TCM gave this four stars. It's a 2-1/2 stars film, in my opinion.

Pat O'Brien is Sam Gallagher, a U.S. government agent, a step up from his old job as a foreign correspondent. His brother Jeff (Chester Morris) offers him a job working in a shipyard as a pileback. Piles are poles, driven into the soil by a mechanical device to give a foundation to a structure Sam's purpose is to ferret out a group of Nazi spies trying to sabotage the shipyards. To give him a background, Jill McCann (Carole Landis), who is an FBI agent, poses as his wife, and two small war orphans are brought in as his children.

Jeff is surprised by all this - okay, he hasn't seen his brother in seven years, but something isn't right. He tells Lea Damoran (Ruth Warrick, his girlfriend who used to be Sam's girlfriend) his thoughts.

Sam is able to find out that the yard is going to be blown up the yard while an aircraft carrier is docked. And he begins to learn who the Nazis are in the yard. One problem: His brother's suspicions are drawing too much attention to Sam.

Pat O'Brien for me has never made it as a leading man, yet for some reason, every once in a while he was given a lead role. This is a role for Joel McCrea, John Wayne, that ilk: masculine, solid, and, frankly, kind of a chick magnet. I mean, on one side there's gorgeous Carole Landis, and on the other, his old girlfriend who still has feelings for him.

The story is only so-so, but the final scenes are quite good. The subplot concerning the war orphans is sweet and probably unnecessary.

Carole Landis would be dead only four years later, at the age of 29. I suspect the affair with Harrison was probably the last straw. She was done in Hollywood: she was nearing 30, the cutoff age for actresses back then, there were no more big films thanks to her relationship with Darryl Zanuck ending, she couldn't have children, and at the age of 29, she had already had four husbands. A sad end for a beautiful woman who learned that in Hollywood, you're disposable.

Lightweight Propaganda that is Family Friendly Fodder and Heavy on the Irish-are-Americans Theme, as well as the Need to Include those Cute Kids as a Reminder of what We are Fighting for. Speaking of Fighting, those Irish will Fight at Any Opportunity. They will Fight and Argue with Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers and even the Nazis.

In the Middle of the Movie it Stops Dead to Include a Scene where the Shipbuilders Remove their Welder's Helmets so the Audience can See Everyone is Doing their Part...Negroes...Women...and an Oriental (had to be Chinese because the Japanese were in Internment Camps).

Pat O'Brien is Miscast Again Playing a Hunk that Every Woman on Screen Pines. Ridiculous. The Frumpy, Overweight, Hardly Handsome "Star", should have Traded Places with Chester Morris and it would have Worked a Whole Lot Better.

Carol Landis is a Sleek Beauty and some of the Cinematography is Above Average. Overall it is a Watchable Piece of Propaganda Fluff that is Neither that Suspenseful or Intriguing. In the Prolog it is Mentioned that America is Building Sturdy Ships, Honest Ships. What Exactly is an Honest Ship?

Pat O'Brien shows up on the docks, down and out and in need of a job. His brother Chester Morris, construction manager, reluctantly hires him on. Very soon we discover that O'Brien's real job here is not building ships.

This WWII spy thriller has a bit of romance thrown in and features an assortment of characters whose personal and wartime lives often overlap: Carole Landis and Ruth Warrick are both quite good as women doing jobs that take precedence--at least during wartime--over their personal lives or relationships. Landis is a fellow agent who poses as O'Brien's wife; Warrick is Morris's assistant in the shipyard office. Morris would like to marry Warrick but she may still have feelings for her old flame, O'Brien--whose professional regard for Landis may grow into something more.

Wallace Ford, always fun to watch, is part of "the team"--his main job being spotting Nazis at the shipyard. Barton MacLane is excellent as a rough-edged yard worker whose eventual friendship with O'Brien is hard fought.

The plot is solid: O'Brien and Ford keep an eye out for saboteurs while Morris and Warrick, realizing that O'Brien is no ordinary dock worker, keep an eye on him. There's some comic relief that isn't too funny, unfortunately, and also some cute scenes involving a couple of war orphans that just aren't real convincing.

It's a great role for O'Brien, though, as that rugged American everyman who doesn't say much but performs awesome feats.