Across the Pacific

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet
Directed by: John Huston
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance
1942

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A U.S. Army official (Humphrey Bogart) travels on a Japanese vessel to the Panama Canal. While on the ship, he begins to think something is amiss. Among the ship's passengers are a mysterious woman (Mary Astor), a secret-hiding doctor (Sydney Greenstreet).

Review:

Tim: This is an interesting spy film about a Japanese plot to blow up the Panama Canal. You have the typical Humphrey Bogart movie characteristics, although nothing is particularly new or unique. The story is fairly strong, but the movie ultimately begins to unravel near the end. As a whole, this film isn't nearly as good as several other films Bogart has done.

While the script has a few flaws, the film's cast is quite good. Humphrey Bogart is always good in these types of film. He gets along quite well with Mary Astor. While not among the best actresses to play alongside Bogart (heck, she was even better with him in The Maltese Falcon then here), Astor is fairly good in the role. Sydney Greenstreet is fairly strong as well.

The movie starts out very well. We see a collection of individuals boarding a Japanese ship bound for the Panama Canal. We don't know why they are all on board, but we know there are some ulterior motives. This keeps us in a fairly good state of suspense. However, this begins to get more murky and complicated as the plot begins to be revealed. By the time we understand everything about the terrorist plot, we start to realize we're not as fully invested as we should be. The suspense that existed at the beginning of the film are long gone by this point. The movie's climax is somewhat lackluster and disappointing. It all ends in such a ridiculous, neat fashion that the movie's march toward the end seems like a hike into nowhere. The film's conclusion hurts it.

Across the Pacific will at least keep you entertained. The movie doesn't unravel until the very end, so most of the film is decent. However, as a whole, this is not among either director John Huston or Bogart's best work. If you're a huge fan, watch this movie- if not, your time is better spent elsewhere.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Sahara, Action in the North Atlantic, Passage to Marseille, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon