FLIGHT TO NOWHERE (director: William Rowland; screenwriter: Arthur V. Jones; cinematographer: Marcel LePicard; editor: Gregg Tallas; music: Carl Hoefle/James Mayfield/Bert Reisfeld; cast: Evelyn Ankers (Catherine Forrest), Alan Curtis (Hobe Carrington), Jerome Cowan (Gerald Porter), Hoot Gibson (Sheriff Bradley), Jack Holt (FBI Agent Bob Donovan), Micheline Cheirel (Dolly Lorraine), John Craven (Claude Forrest), Inez Cooper (Irene Allison), Roland Varno (James Van Bush), Gordon Richards (Tom Walker), Michael Visaroff (Joseph Herman Ruehl); Runtime: 74; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: William B. David; Sinister; 1946)
“A tedious low-budget espionage film.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A tedious low-budget espionage film, about the public’s fear of nuclear bombs. Director William Rowland(“Women in the Night”/”Follies Girl”/”A Song For Julie”) seems to be going nowhere in his direction. The convoluted screenplay is by Arthur V. Jones.
LA-based FBI agent Donovan (Jack Holt) is assigned to catch the thieves who stole a map of uranium deposits from a Korean spy at a party in Hawaii. LA pilot Hobe Carrington (Alan Curtis), a former counter-espionage agent, is invited to dinner in Death Valley by the attractive Countess, a former showgirl named Dolly Loraine (Micheline Cheirel), and he agrees to fly her there. She surprises him at the airport when accompanied by Catherine Forrest (Evelyn Ankers), Cathy’s brother Claude (John Craven), James Van Bush (Roland Varno) and Gerald Porter (Jerome Cowan). In the airport toilet, Donovan secretly confides to Hobe about the stolen uranium map that one of his passenger’s might possess and appeals to his patriotism to help catch them. Hobe reluctantly agrees.
In Death Valley, Hobe’s guests are introduced to worldly mine owner Thomas R. Walker (Gordon Richards). Claude tries to sell him the valuable uranium map for $250,000, while the others in the group who are not Cathy try to make their own secret deals with him. When Walker is found murdered, Donovan gets the sheriff (Hoot Gibson) to arrest an assigned agent so he can throw the real murder off his guard and thereby secretly follow him for the stolen map.
Hobe flies to Las Vegas, with his ex-wife Irene Allison (Inez Cooper) aboard. When Claude tries to sell the map to Las Vegas rancher Joseph Herman Ruehl (Michael Visaroff), who was a Japanese collaborator during the war, it will lead to the unmasking of the murderer and mastermind of the international racketeers.
REVIEWED ON 2/23/2015 GRADE: C+
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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