''Panama Patrol'' is a 1939 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. Directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

, the film stars

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...

Charlotte Wynters Charlotte Wynters (December 4, 1899 – January 7, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Biography A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Wynters appeared as a leading lady in a number of B pictures during the 1930s. During the 1922-19 ...

, and

Adrienne Ames Adrienne Ames (born Ruth Adrienne McClure; August 3, 1907 – May 31, 1947) was an American film actress. Early in her career she was known as Adrienne Truex. Early years Ames was born in Fort Worth, Texas, one of six children of Samuel Hugh M ...

, it was released on May 20, 1939. The film was known during production by the working titles of ''Curio Cipher'' and ''Panama Cipher''.

Plot

Major Phillip Waring, the head of the Cipher Bureau in Washington, D. C., is called away on the day of his wedding to secretary Helen Lane by an urgent request to decipher a diplomatic message intercepted from an international spy ring. Waring and his assistant, Lieutenant Murdock, track down one of the spies, but he is shot before they are able to question him. With the spy's death, their only clue is a letter written in Chinese, which they give to Bureau interpreter Artie Johnson to decipher. Unknown to Waring, Johnson is the clandestine leader of the spy ring, and the interpreter gives Waring information that leads him into a trap at the Maing curio shop. When Waring fails to return from his mission, Murdock goes to the shop and rescues him. While at the shop, Waring discovers another letter, and when asked to interpret it, Johnson cleverly changes one of the letters in the code by means of a blotter. Johnson's information sends Waring and Murdock to California on a wild goose chase. In their absence, however, Helen finds Johnson's blotter and realizes that he is involved in the spy ring. While confronting Johnson at his house, Helen is taken captive by the ring. Meanwhile, Waring realizes that his mission is a frame-up, and returns to Washington to discover Helen's peril. Arriving at Johnson's house just after the spies have left with Helen, Waring discovers the final part of the code, which reveals the spy's plan to impede traffic traveling through the Panama Canal. The cipher also discloses the location of the spy headquarters, and Waring and Murdock arrive just in time to rescue Helen and smash the spy ring.

Cast

as Major Phillip Waring *

as Helen Lane *

as Lia Maing *

Weldon Heyburn Weldon Heyburn (born Weldon Heyburn Franks; September 19, 1903 – May 18, 1951) was an American character actor. Early years The son of Marie Pierce and United States Army Col. Wyatt G. Franks, Heyburn was most likely born in Washington, ...

as Lt. Murdock *

Abner Biberman Abner Warren Biberman (April 1, 1909 – June 20, 1977) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter. Early years Biberman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, later moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He gained early acting experien ...

as Artie Johnson * Sidney Miller as Jimmy * Jack Smart as Eli Maing * Donald Barry as Lt. Loring * Hugh McArthur as Lt. Everett *

William Von Brincken Wilhelm von Brincken (May 27, 1881 – January 18, 1946), also known as Wilhelm L. von Brincken, William Vaughn, William von Brinken, and William Vaughan, was a German diplomat and spy during World War I, who went on to become an American charac ...

as Marlin

References

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 86171 American drama films 1939 drama films 1939 films American black-and-white films 1930s American films