This Producers Releasing Corporation poverty row action film starts off very slowly with half an hour leading up to where the exciting points start. The first half deals with two women (Carol Hughes and Julie Dumcan) preparing to return to New York by clipper ship and getting to know officer Ralph Byrd while criminals nearby plot to hijack the ship. The first half is nothing really but a bunch of squabbles by the girls and various men trying to get their attention and schemes, and when the action finally does hit in the last half, the audience needs to be jogged awake. It is noisy and frenetic and frustrating in parts, and that makes it difficult to be an enjoyable time filler even when the plot does set sail. The cast gives their all, but they are stuck with a meandering script that doesn't make this an easy film to really invest any thought into. This is instantly forgettable with the hour lost regrettable.
Review of Desperate Cargo
