Forbidden Passage

1941

21m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

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Crime

Drama

This MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short looks at the U.S. Department of Immigration's efforts to halt the smuggling of illegal aliens into the country. Desperate immigrants, tired of waiting for legal entry, pay exorbitant fees and risk a grisly death to enter by illegal means.

Directors

Fred Zinnemann

Writers

Carl Dudley(original story by)

Carl Dudley(screenplay by)

Stars

Addison Richards

Wolfgang Zilzer

Hugh Beaumont

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Top cast

Frank J. Maxwell

Otto Kestler

Clements

American Consul in Lisbon

George Cleveland

Anna's Father (uncredited)

William Edmunds

Illegal Alien Aboard Tugboat (uncredited)

Directors

Fred Zinnemann

Writers

Carl Dudley(original story by)

Carl Dudley(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

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Featured review

6/10

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.

Geronimo196711 Jul, 2025