Forbidden Passage (1941)

This is maybe one of the more harrowing of these “Crime Does Not Pay” short features as it rather graphically displays both the desperation and frustration of those trying to get into the USA and the ruthlessness of the people smugglers who charge them $2,000 each to, hopefully, achieve their goal. It’s when a body weighed down with chains is discovered in Florida that the immigration service decides to investigate one such ring of criminals that operates out of Portugal via Belize - but it is a well covered track and these folks take no chances. If they think they are at risk of being caught, then it’s the bilge hatches for the refugees and they just keep their cash. It serves as a sort of public information film that appears to suggest to upstanding citizens that they ought to report any unexpected arrivals in their communities to the authorities for verification and as a drama it has quite an effectively claustrophobic impact, too.