The Devil's Pipeline (1940)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

You'd think the sinister men keeping men as prisoners to work their oil wells (without pay) would let the constantly hungry Andy Devine squealing for food go. Actually, Devine and leading man Richard Arlen have been sent there to expose this racket, and end up with more than they bargained for. The exotic setting is made out to be more sinister due to the circumstances, disturbing in itself, but lessened in impact by Devine's non-stop chatter. Arlen ends up in cahoots with reluctant secretary Jean Brooks to get the word out there about big boss John Eldredge and his band of not so marry men.The issue of human trafficking is a pretty shocking one and is a story that needs to be told. However, the method in which this is done isn't always appropriate to the theme. Brooks indicates to her employers that she is disgusted by what they are doing, and simply continues typing, sending out her pleas for help, with no suspicion until much later that she's out to bring them down. Devine's participation as well becomes far more annoying than the writers probably intended. He's lovable but only in smaller doses. Brooks is an adequate leading lady, one I had never heard of before after decades of classic movie watching and viewings of hundreds of B programmers like this from the early 1940's alone. Another problem is much of the night photography is far too dark. They might have struck oil, but the movie seems to be spewing sludge.

An enjoyable second feature from the b-unit at Universal Studios. Richard Arlen and Andy Devine play a pair of down on their luck oil workers. They are down to their last dime when they are hired to check out an oil drilling operation in the East Indies. It seems there is something wrong with the figures home office in New York is getting from the Pacific. Arlen and Devine fly into the island to see what the problem could be. The first thing you know the boys are arrested by the local police. Then they are sold as slave workers to the oil rig they had come to check up on. The rig manager and the police chief then split the wage supposedly paid to the workers. Needless to say Arlen and Devine lead a revolt of the workers. There are several well handled gun-battles and the like in this lightweight action film. John Eldredge, and Franic McDonald supply the villain content while Jean Brooks is the damsel in distress. Fun little 65 min time-waster